Kiosk project underway for parking in Carbon County lot

Visitors to Jim Thorpe should see a change this spring if they park in the Carbon County parking lot or any of the county-owned lots with how they pay to park.

On Thursday, Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein gave an update on the kiosk project that began last year. The county, last August, entered into an agreement with Butts Ticket Co. of Cochranville to purchase 15 kiosks for the lot, as well as metered areas on Lehigh Avenue and Susquehanna Street, at a cost of $175,550. The purchase will be paid for through the parking fund that is generated by the parking fees in the county parking lot.

Nothstein said the commissioners met with several borough officials, as well as the Carbon Chamber, Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau and Jim Thorpe Tourism Agency to discuss the issue of parking in the borough and ways to help traffic flow during events that attract large crowds.

“It was a good meeting,” Nothstein said, saying this is the beginning of more coordination between the entities.

Currently, the county is obtaining a quote for the installation of concrete pads for the kiosks and hopes to have the project on its way to completion by April, as long as the last outstanding items are straightened out.

Jim Thorpe Mayor Michael Sofranko, who was in attendance at the commissioners’ meeting, said the meeting between the various agencies, borough and council earlier this week was “very productive.”

“We want to continue to promote Jim Thorpe when events are here and the only way to do that is when the county and borough come together,” Sofranko said. He hopes for future meetings to work on getting a smoother traffic flow through the borough.

Nothstein said the groups discussed some options for alleviating some of the congestion that happens during events, especially when the county lot is full.

The former board of commissioners last May announced that they would look at the changeover to a kiosk for parking fees after Jim Thorpe shifted its metering system to parking kiosks.

The ticket booth at the entrance of the lot will no longer be manned once the changeover takes place, but parking attendants will patrol the lot, making sure all vehicles have paid at the kiosks to park.

The kiosks will accept coins, bills, and debit and credit cards, but the fee has not yet been announced.