In early May, the Morning Call published an article about the steady but dramatic increase in parking tickets in the city of Allentown between 2022 and 2023.
The Lehigh Valley Justice Institute (LVJI), a nonpartisan research, policy, and advocacy organization examining the criminal justice system, conducted a study in response to look deeper into claims of higher ticketing rates.
As an introduction to the study’s results, LVJI explains how their dedication to ensuring a fair criminal justice system involves economic justice. They reference many residents’ belief that the Allentown Parking Authority is “attacking” residents facing higher rates of poverty.
The analysis found that ten types of violations make up 85% of all tickets, with out-of-date inspections earning the most tickets at 17%. However, if combined, street cleaning and repeat offender street cleaning tickets make up 20% of all tickets. Other common violations include overtime meter parking, parking too close to a corner, and parking on a sidewalk.
More than 31,000 tickets, or 11% of all tickets, were issued in downtown Allentown, with meter violations the most likely reason for tickets in the downtown area.
Areas with higher proportions of households experiencing poverty were found to have more tickets issued. A correlation was also found between higher ticket rates and non-white residents, as areas with higher Black or POC populations tend to cluster near Center City.
Overall, the study did determine that Allentown’s parking enforcement has a greater impact on poorer, more diverse areas of the city. LVJI emphasizes that this correlation is not necessarily intentional. It’s still unknown whether more violations naturally occur in these areas because of congestion or city structure, or because the Allentown Parking Authority enforcement is increased in these regions.
