Allentown Deserves Safe, Fully Cleared Streets After Snowstorms

Recent signers:
Erhan Yayla and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

After snowstorms, residential streets in Allentown that are not main or emergency routes are often left uncleared, leaving residents with nowhere to park. Families, children, elderly residents, and anyone with limited mobility struggle to safely enter and exit their vehicles. Snow- and ice-covered streets create a serious safety hazard that cannot be ignored.   
We are asking the City of Allentown to: • Fully clear all residential streets, not just main roads • Implement scheduled street-side parking rotations to allow proper snow removal • Pause or limit parking enforcement until streets are safely cleared and parking is realistically available   
Parking is already a problem snow makes it worse, and unsafe streets put our community at risk. Safe, accessible streets must come before tickets. Residents deserve streets that are passable and safe for everyone.

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Recent signers:
Erhan Yayla and 19 others have signed recently.

The Issue

After snowstorms, residential streets in Allentown that are not main or emergency routes are often left uncleared, leaving residents with nowhere to park. Families, children, elderly residents, and anyone with limited mobility struggle to safely enter and exit their vehicles. Snow- and ice-covered streets create a serious safety hazard that cannot be ignored.   
We are asking the City of Allentown to: • Fully clear all residential streets, not just main roads • Implement scheduled street-side parking rotations to allow proper snow removal • Pause or limit parking enforcement until streets are safely cleared and parking is realistically available   
Parking is already a problem snow makes it worse, and unsafe streets put our community at risk. Safe, accessible streets must come before tickets. Residents deserve streets that are passable and safe for everyone.

The Decision Makers

Jon Haney
Jon Haney
Executive Director, Allentown Parking Authority
Responded
Thank you for reaching out. The Allentown Parking Authority (APA) worked to support the City of Allentown in its efforts to respond to an unusually large snowstorm. The APA opened up our parking decks downtown providing over 3,000 parking spaces for residents to use prior to the storm's arrival. Moving your vehicle to a deck during a snow emergency allows the City of Allentown Public Works department an opportunity to better plow and clean the snow emergency routes. The APA opened one deck prior to the snow emergency declaration and then all other decks a short time after planned events concluded before the storm. The APA continued to offer one deck for free snow parking up until Monday February 2nd. Additionally, the APA suspended normal enforcement action and focused on safety violations and responding to calls. The APA has not returned to full enforcement yet. Communication is always a challenge during these types of events. Although information was posted on the APA website and social media sites, the best option for residents and the public is to take advantage of the APA's CodeRed system. It is free to sign up, and users will receive useful alerts regarding street closures and other information. The APA sent CodeRed alerts out concerning the snow emergency parking as well as multiple days ahead of the return to street cleaning this past Monday. It's easy, it's free and anyone can sign up here: https://www.allentownparking.com/parking/codered/ Note: The Change.org Civic Engagement Team reaches out to decision makers to let them know about petitions in their community and to help facilitate engagement with supporters. The above was an email response we received regarding this petition.
Allentown City Council
7 Members
Natalie Santos
Allentown City Council
Santo Napoli
Allentown City Council
Candida Affa
Allentown City Council
Matt Tuerk
Allentown City Mayor
Daryl Hendricks
Daryl Hendricks
Public Works Committee Chair
Mark Shahda
Mark Shahda
Director of Public Works

Supporter Voices

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