Chester cracks down on abandoned cars with new parking initiative

CHESTER, Pa. (CBS) — Hundreds of people in the City of Chester have complained about abandoned cars in their neighborhoods over the last several years. The city is now taking a proactive approach to getting them off the streets with a new parking initiative.

Under the program, residents in three zones are required to pay $30 a year for a permit to park on city streets. The Chester Parking Authority is scanning license plate numbers in these zones and issuing warnings to drivers who park their cars on city streets without a permit.

"We scanned over 1,000 vehicles," Matt Moseley, market president of Premium Parking, said. Premium Parking is the contractor for the Chester Parking Authority. "As of yesterday, we issued just about 200 warnings."

Next month, the grace period will end, and Chester Parking Authority will start issuing $50 tickets. Enforcement officers are not only tracking cars without a permit but also broken-down cars. Abandoned vehicles aren't just an eyesore; they take up valuable space in neighborhoods where parking is scarce.

"Our parking enforcement will notice if there are vehicles that don't have permits just sitting there," Justin Tibbels, spokesperson, for the City of Chester, said. "We'll tag them and if they sit there too long, we'll tow them out and clear them off the streets."

Last year, the City of Chester towed 97 abandoned cars. The city is on track to surpass that number this year.

Some residents welcome the effort to improve quality of life.

"I think it's a good way to generate revenue and keep people accountable for their vehicles and not leave them around abandoned," Widener University junior Nick Aristone said. "So I think it's good."

But other residents are worried about whether visitors will still be allowed to park.

"I have buddies who come over to Bible study," Brit Haseltine from Chester said. "That's about six cars. When they come over, they have to find a spot here and every spot here is resident parking only, so they're worried about getting towed."

The city plans to allow each resident to apply for one free visitor pass per day.