TimesLeader.com

Sidewalk parking tickets questioned during Scranton council meeting

By Shelby Fisk sfisk@scrantonedition.com
Scranton Edition Staff Writer / Photographer

SCRANTON – City residents are upset about being ticketed for sidewalk parking.

The issue was addressed during city council’s business meeting Tuesday night. According to Sam Vitris, president of # 23O5 Department of Public Works union and a Scranton resident, tickets were issued at 4 a.m. on Tuesday on Eynon Street because he and other residents were partially parked on the sidewalk of the narrow road.

Vitris said that he’s lived on Eynon Street for more than 25 years. He said that he and other residents have parked partially on the sidewalk in the past to avoid being side-swiped by other vehicles. Vitris said his car has been damaged twice by other vehicles, but he’s never been ticketed for parking.

Councilwoman Judy Gatelli said residents on other streets complained about recent ticketing on other narrow roads.

Councilman Bill Courtright said he’d look into why the tickets were issued. He noted a complaint may have been filed with the city.

In other news, Councilwoman Janet Evans read an e-mail from Thom Welby, a League of Women Voters of Lackawanna County board member, who wrote the email on his behalf, not the organization’s behalf, which confirmed that the League of Women Voters city council debate that was scheduled for Tuesday evening was cancelled, but not because of Evans’ intentions not to attend. Rather, Welby said in the e-mail, the event was accidentally scheduled on Tuesday and then cancelled because of a conflict with a city business meeting.

Evans was blasted last week for saying that she wouldn’t attend the debate because of her obligation to attend council’s regular meeting, and a council speaker blamed her for its cancellation.

For more on this story, see the latest edition of The Times Leader Scranton Edition available on Saturday.