Lawrenceville residents struggle to find parking

LAWRENCEVILLE, Pa. — People living near Children’s Hospital have been dealing with parking problems since the hospital relocated to Lawrenceville four years ago, and it’s getting worse.

Channel 11’s Rick Earle reported that people living in the area pay $20 per year, per vehicle to park, but finding a spot is easier said than done.

Jeff Sweeney, who has lived in Lawrenceville for 20 years, told Earle that the hospital has attracted more businesses and restaurants to the area. As a result, more people are looking for already-limited parking spaces.

Drivers without a permit or visitor’s pass are allowed to park for one hour, after which they are supposed to be ticketed, but residents told Earle that the parking authority isn’t aggressively enforcing restrictions.

Some residents even suspect that people are renting out visitor’s passes.

“It's not right to the people who actually pay the 20 dollars a year to park here,” said Sean Sweeney.

According to the parking authority, officers patrol the area on a regular basis, and cars with a visitor’s pass will be ticketed after the fourth consecutive day.

Councilman Patrick Dowd told Earle that an automatic license recognition device is in the works to allow enforcement officers to cover more streets.

He also said that there is talk of building a parking lot in the area to help alleviate the residential parking problem.

WPXI