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Warren tries to educate downtown parkers about parking ban
By Ed Runyan
WARREN
The company that handles parking enforcement in downtown appears to have fired a warning shot regarding people who use two-hour on-street parking spaces by posting signs asking them to respect this week’s snow-related parking ban.
Tony Iannucci, director of the Warren Parking Systems LLC, said he directed downtown parking-enforcement employees to post paper “No Parking” signs over the parking signs Wednesday after seeing so much on-street parking downtown. The signs said, “City of Warren Parking Ban NO PARKING.”
The city sent out a parking- ban notice to the media, and Tuesday afternoon placed it on city websites saying the city was under a parking ban beginning 9 p.m. Tuesday “until further notice.”
The news release said, “All vehicles must be cleared from all city streets to facilitate snow removal.”
Iannucci acknowledges the parking ban and paper signs were largely ignored downtown, but the paper signs were an attempt to make people understand the ban applied to the downtown area as well as residential streets.
Iannucci said he felt the problem was the worst on North Park Avenue near Trumbull County Job and Family Services and along Harmon Street next to the county administration building.
Iannucci said the paper signs were “not effective,” so he and the city administration will be discussing the matter further to determine how to get the message across next time.
Iannucci, whose company works for the city, said he doesn’t think towing the cars is the answer.
Enzo Cantalamessa, safety-service director, said he’s not ruling out the possibility of giving parking tickets next time.
Cantalamessa said cars parked on the street in a snow event like the one Wednesday make it “difficult if not impossible for the plows to do their work.” There were cars parked on residential streets also, but the volume of violators was the greatest downtown, he said.
Josh Nativio, manager of All-American Comics on East Market Street downtown, said he thinks people ignore the parking ban downtown because they “know they’re not going to get a ticket.”
He said the city has a parking deck and a “shortcut” through a Courthouse Square building to make the deck more convenient. He thinks more people should use the deck.