Jim Thorpe considers fate of meter posts

The switch from coin-operated parking meters to a kiosk-based system is paying dividends in Jim Thorpe Borough, according to municipal officials, but a side effect of the move has yet to be cured.

What will happen to the old meter posts?

Council debated the issue during a workshop Thursday night after Borough Manager Maureen Sterner pitched a proposal to convert the posts to bike racks.

Vince Yaich, public works supervisor, said the posts, while no longer being used for meters, are beneficial in helping motorists know where to park when lines on the ground are not visible.

“In the winter, you realize how much you can use them,” Yaich said.

“The last storm, out on Broadway in front of the 5&10, you had three full-size SUVs not parked on an angle and it took up eight parking spots.”

While locals know the borough’s angled parking system in that area, visitors do not, and Yaich told council they would benefit from the posts.

Notifying motorists of the parking spaces isn’t the only reason they are helpful, he added.

“We put bags on them to designate them for no parking when we are going in to clear snow,” Yaich said.

In the summer, contractors occasionally pay for spaces if they are working on a nearby house.

Borough workers put the no-parking notice on the meter posts in those cases.

After hearing the benefits, Councilwoman Edith Lukasevich still strongly voiced her opinion of wanting the posts removed.

“I think we should get rid of them,” she said. “Take them out. There is nothing you can do to make them nice. They should be gone.”

If the borough opts for the bike rack conversion, Sterner said she would contact local Eagle Scouts to gauge their interest in painting them black to match the downtown street posts.

Upon request from Councilman Jay Miller, Mayor Mike Sofranko said the police department would check with other towns that have transitioned to kiosks to find out what they did with their meter posts.