Politics & Government

Looking for Parking Solutions in Easton

City council to hold hearing Tuesday night.

The woman in Jane Nordell's store was happily shopping...until she remembered she had a meter to feed. Rather than keep browsing, she paid for what she had and vanished.

"So what percentage of my sale did I just lose?" asked Nordell, one of the owners of , the Northampton Street pet supply boutique.

She was speaking Monday morning at an informal meeting of merchants and city officials to discuss Easton's parking situation. City Councilman Jeff Warren is scheduled to hold a hearing on the topic Tuesday night at 6.

Find out what's happening in Eastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

There's a lot to talk about: Ways to get shoppers downtown with more modern meters; changing the time limit on meters in certain parts of the city; the cost of parking in the city's garage vs. on the street. 

"We're backwards," Mayor Sal Panto said Monday. "It's going to cost you $2 an hour in the garage, 50 cents an hour on the street. Where are you parking?"

Find out what's happening in Eastonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

And issues can apparently change in a matter of blocks. Nordell, on the 400 block of Northampton, worries about her customers getting ticketed. Anthony Marraccini of -- on the 200 block of the same street -- says he's more concerned about safety issues: people double-parking while using the nearby convenience stores. 

On top of that, the city is also looking at , and  --eventually -- installing multi-space meters. And that's just downtown. Parking near the courthouse continues to be an issue for residents and visitors and county employees alike. 

At Monday's meeting, there were some ideas tossed around -- vouchers that would allow people spending a certain amount of money downtown to park for free, for example -- but it's clear that this is just the beginning of the discussion.


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