DOWNTOWN Owner of pizza shop gets 2 parking spaces
Downtown parking needs to be addressed case by case, the director said.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The city will halve the size of a bus stop to give a downtown pizza shop owner a spot to park delivery cars.
The city will cut an 80-foot bus stop to 40 feet in front of Tomasino's Pizza at 103 W. Federal St.
John Thompson, Tomasino's owner, told council's safety committee Tuesday that the previous pizza shop owner was exempt from parking tickets. The city promised the same consideration in front of the business when he opened last year, he said.
Parking tickets started coming anyway, he said. A crackdown on downtown parking violations earlier this year leaves him with 150 tickets, he said.
Access to cars in front of the shop is vital, Thompson said.
"I can't walk four blocks in February with hot pizza to deliver it to this office or any other office in Youngstown and expect it to be on time or warm," he said.
Carmen Conglose Jr., deputy director of public works, confirmed that the cars of the previous pizza shop weren't ticketed as long as they weren't parked all day.
Conglose said the Western Reserve Transit Authority has agreed to forgo half the bus stop near Tomasino's to make room for two parking spaces.
Thompson said he needs two most days and three on Fridays, his busiest time, but will make do.
Conglose said such situations need to be addressed case by case.
Parking regulations are in place for a reason and some shouldn't be overlooked for safety reasons, he said. But others should be reviewed as needed, he said.
Business and parking situations change constantly, so blanket rules don't work, he said.
Artis Gillam Sr., D-1st, the councilman for downtown, complained that the city's parking enforcement company, AMPCO Parking, has been "too generous" handing out tickets. The company always tickets some cars but not others, he said.
Conglose said the company has enforced parking downtown for at least 15 years and does as directed by the city. Conglose said the company has been fair and has no incentive to be unfair. The city pays AMPCO a flat fee, not by the ticket.
Claire Maluso, the city's Federal Plaza director, said reconstruction of Federal Street has created more parking problems downtown. Those problems should ease when construction is done, which is scheduled by year's end, she said.
rgsmith@vindy.com