Sharon council amends crackdown on parking

SHARON, Pa. -- The city is backing away just a bit from its recent crackdown on illegal parking in no parking zones and fire lanes.
City council passed the first of two required readings of an ordinance Thursday amending parking regulations to allow parking on the west side of Forker Boulevard in front of the Sharon City School District's Bennet Educational Service Center.
It's a no-parking zone, but people have been parking there for years without getting a ticket.
Stepped up enforcement brought that to an end and a number of tickets have recently been issued for cars parked there, some of them belonging to school district employees.
The amendment approved by council will allow parking on the west side of the street from Pearl Street south to the north side driveway of the service center's parking lot, a distance of 212 feet.
Parking will be limited to two hours at a time.
The motion passed 4-0 with President Fred Hoffman, an elementary school principal in Sharon, abstaining.
Councilman Ray Fabian, a Sharon teacher, voted for the change.
Final approval is expected at council's April 17 meeting.