No Fooling, Easton Really Wants to Clean Up Streets After a Hard Winter

No fooling, street sweeping will resume in
the City of Easton on April 1, city
officials say.

By Christina Georgiou

The city will resume its regular street sweeping schedule next week on Tuesday, April 1, and city officials say they are serious about enforcing no parking ordinances to get the job done.

"It's no April Fool's joke. After this winter, the streets really need to be swept," said City Administrator Glenn Steckman at Easton's city council meeting Wednesday evening.

The city began leaving bright pink flyers on cars along city street sweeping routes this week to remind residents to move their cars on street sweeping routes during designated times, Mayor Sal Panto said.

"We're trying to be proactive so we don't have to give people tickets," the mayor said.

Steckman said even one car left on the side of a street on a block being swept makes it impossible for the sweeper to do a thorough job.

Litter and debris left behind after numerous
winter storms lines many of Easton's streets,
and city street sweepers can't get to it
with parked cars in the way.

"It only benefits everyone when we can get all of the cars off one side of the street so we can clean it," he said.

Councilwoman El Warner questioned whether not having a grace period and at first issuing warnings to those that forget to move their cars was really a good idea.

"I mean, I can hear it, 'There's still snow on the street they never cleared, and they're ticketing,'" she said.

"We might be able to give one week," Steckman said.

"We weren't going to announce it, but the cat's out of the bag," Panto added.

Additionally, the city has already begun the process of filling potholes on city streets caused by the cold this winter. Panto said the total cost of several severe storms and extremely low temperatures is still being tallied.

"This has been a rough winter," he said, noting that the city spent about $258,000 on snow removal. "We expect another $100,000 in road repairs and filling pot holes."

In many places in the city, a long, cold snowy winter has
left piles of snow along streets that has yet to melt.

A better estimate of the total costs is expected to be complete by the next city council meeting, and when it is, city officials will then discuss any budget issues, the mayor said.

Both the mayor and city administrator said the harsh weather this winter has given the city the opportunity to learn more about how to handle snow emergencies.

"I think there have been a lot of lessons learned this winter," Steckman said.

Panto suggested the city may implement a robo-call system next year to directly inform residents of impending snow emergencies and to remind them to move their cars.

Additionally, the public works department will be looking at the current snow emergency route map and the possibility of making changes, he said.

New City Ordinance Will Allow More Time to Pay Tickets

By Christina Georgiou

Introduced at the City of Easton council meeting Wednesday evening, a new ordinance will modify the existing provisions and allow up to 90 days for those who receive parking tickets to pay their fines before the ticket is sent to the local magistrate's office. Currently, the limit is 60 days.

But, while council members seem favorably disposed to the new measure, which is set to be voted on at their next regular meeting in two weeks, some questioned the logic of the fine schedule.

Councilman Roger Ruggles noted that the fine for parking in three College Hill registered permit parking zones without a permit escalates to a $110 fine if paid 61 to 90 days after the ticket was issued, while other violations escalate to a $95 penalty in the same time period. Both sets of infractions initially carry a $50 fine, if paid within one business day of the violation.

"Someone could park in front of a fire hydrant and they'd pay less of a penalty than this," he said. "I just don't understand why these are the most severe penalties on the list, when I see things on the list that to my mind are much more severe."

Councilman Jeff Warren, who introduced the bill, said he agreed that some of the escalating fine amounts should be looked at and possibly changed before it's passed.

Mayor Sal Panto agreed as well, noting that one infraction on the list, "unauthorized parking on private property" may not be enforceable, as the city isn't allowed to issue tickets to vehicles that aren't in a public space.

City Administrator Glenn Steckman said he'd have the police department review the matter and provide city council members with the results of their review.

Minor changes to the bill could be accomplished with amendments before its passage, the council noted, though if substantial changes are made, it will have to be re-introduced before council votes on the measure.

Increasing the limit of time people have to pay parking fines is part of the city's plan to allow online and electronic payment of those penalties, Steckman said.