Parking fines double in Royersford Borough

Royersford, Pa. (WTXF) - Parking in Royersford Borough looks simple. There are no meters so it's free. Still, wherever there's parking there's bound to be problems.

"To me it's a little high," said Jennifer DeFelice. She works at Winding River Tattoo on Main Street. She heard from a customer today about an increase in parking ticket fines.

"To be honest he didn't seem too thrilled about it," she said. The Royersford Borough Police Department posted on it Facebook today that council passed an ordinance increasing most parking fines from $15 to $30 effective immediately. DeFelice says on Main Street one issue is cars parking over the line taking up two spaces.

"The spots on Main Street they're a little small. You can't really park a van or a truck there. You'd have to park a small economy class kind of car," she said. The topic got people talking at a local bar inside the Big Easy restaurant. Ashley Doucette and Dominique Quarles work there and say the fine increase is a warning to people who park their cars on the main strip overnight.

"They only get tickets for parking overnight but we're also at a bar where people don't want to drive home. So what are they supposed to do with their cars?" said Quarles.

The president of Borough Council told me over the phone the ordinance to raise fines was passed October 9th and advertised for 30 days. He says the increase is a combination of new software and keeping fines in line with neighboring towns. He said the fine hadn't been raised in 20 years.

Jason Sosa is a resident and says there's an easy solution to the problem.

"If you're parking somewhere where it's clearly stated that you're not supposed to be parking there it's only $15. That's not that much so if they're raising it to $30 it's fair," said Sosa.

For more information, please visit the Royersford Borough Police Department's Facebook page.