Recommending

a Parking Strategy
An Idea for the Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone

By Ocer Gary Rux

Introduc9on

The purpose of this study is to validate or dispel an on

going parking issue iden>ed in the Downtown Business

District of Middletown Borough, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.
The concern is that residents and consumers trying to
park in the Downtown Business District oEen have diculty
nding an adequate place to park, at or even near their home
or place of business they are visi>ng.
It is believed this problem stems from specic vehicles
parked for long periods of >me within the Downtown Business
District. These vehicles possibly belong to owners neither
residing/working in the area, nor are they physically in the
vicinity due to boarding the train at the Middletown Amtrak
Sta>on.
They have most likely parked in the Downtown Business
District as a result of not nding parking within the Park N
Ride.
2

Middletown Amtrak Sta9on

I contacted Amtrak to obtain the most

current schedule for trains boarding and
depar>ng from the Middletown Amtrak Sta>on.
The Amtrak agent provided me with arrival
>mes for this loca>on for inbound trains
traveling in both westbound and eastbound
direc>ons.

Amtrak Schedule for Middletown Sta9on

Monday Friday

Monday Friday

Saturday Sunday

Saturday Sunday

westbound
5:55 a.m.
8:00 a.m.
10:30 a.m.
12:30 p.m.
3:07 p.m.
4:18 p.m.
5:11 p.m.
6:21 p.m.
7:10 p.m.
8:16 p.m.
9:45 p.m.

eastbound
5:10 a.m.
6:05 a.m.
7:55 a.m.
9:10 a.m.
12:10 p.m.
3:30 p.m.
4:40 p.m.
5:45 p.m.
6:50 p.m.
8:40 p.m.
9:25 p.m.

westbound
12:30 a.m.
8:57 a.m.
10:08 a.m.
12:27 p.m.
4:18 p.m.
6:28 p.m.
8:28 p.m.
11:18 p.m.

eastbound
7:30 a.m.
8:30 a.m.
11:30 a.m.
2:15 p.m.
5:15 p.m.
7:15 p.m.

Area Descrip9on
To iden>fy the area aected by Amtrak
parking, I researched the origin of numerous
registra>ons within the area bordered by the
following Streets.
South Union to Mill Street.
Mill Street to Race Street.
Race Street To East Emaus Street.
Emaus Street to South Union Street.
This grid search was conducted 3 dierent days at
the hours between 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4p.m. to 6
p.m. on each of the 3 days.

AREA of GRID SEARCH (satellite view)

AREA of GRID SEARCH (map view)

Area Descrip9on
As a result of the data collected, I concluded
only 3 streets had more than 1 or 2 cars registered
to out of town addresses. These streets included
the following streets.
Brown Street from South Union to Pine Street
Mill Street from South Union to the front of
Interfaith apartments.
Poplar Street from Brown Street to Mill Street
For purposes of this parking study, the above target
streets will be referred to the Downtown Business
District Amtrak Zone.

Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone (satellite view )

Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone (map view )

10

Registra9on Reviewed
Over the course of 30 days, I reviewed registra>on
demographic of vehicles within the Downtown Business
District Amtrak Zone on 9 dierent occasions. The search
took place only at peak >mes within the Middletown
Amtrak Sta>ons normal opera>ng hours. I also revisited
each of the 9 loca>ons 2 hours later to iden>fy which
vehicles were s>ll there.
The data revealed only about 28% the total
vehicles parked in the Area were registered to a 17057 zip
code. Valida>ng residents and local consumers were
unable to nd adequate parking in the Downtown
Business District Amtrak Zone during peak opera>ng
areas.
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Registra9on Reviewed

It is important to note, I only complied

data at >mes iden>ed as high peak hours by
the businesses opera>ng within the Downtown
Business District Amtrak Zone.
AEer reviewing the data I was able to
determine the lack of parking was created by
the 72% of the cars parked in the Downtown
Business District Amtrak Zone which were
registered outside of Middletown Areas.
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Registra9on Reviewed
With the ongoing road closures (due to the
construc>on in the area) it is impera>ve consumers
are able to nd adequate parking when visi>ng the
Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.
The following slides include a proposal for an
addi>on to the Borough Code that might alleviate
some of the parking issues.
It is important to note that in order to be
most eec>ve it would be a good idea consider
increasing the parking >cket nes. Per 252-43 of
the Borough Code, parking >cket nes are only $15
if paid within 48 hours aEer tagging, or $30 if paid
thereaEer.
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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)

A.) The purpose of this sec>on is to distribute

limited on-street parking resources between the
compe>ng needs of dierent popula>ons,
including
Amtrak commuters and personnel
Residents, business owners, employees, and
consumers of the Downtown Business District
Amtrak Zone.
The goal is to develop a fair and legally
enforceable system.
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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak

Zone. (NEW)
B.) The Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone
shall consist of the following streets and street
segments:
North and south side of Brown Street between
South Union and Pine Street.
North and south side of Mill Street between
South Union Street and Poplar Street.
West and east side of Poplar Street between
Brown Street and Mill Street.
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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)

C.) Limited use parking: The on-street parking

within the Downtown Business District Amtrak
Zone shall consist of combina>on of limi>ng
parking >mes and permit parking (placard
parking).

16

252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)

D.) Parking >me limited: No person shall park a

vehicle or allow the same to remain parked
upon any of the streets or parts of streets
described below, between the hours specied,
for longer than the >me indicated below:

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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)
Name of Street: Brown Street
Side: North
Time Limit; Hours/Day: 12 hours; All day.
Loca>on: Beginning east of the intersec>on of Brown Street and
North Union Street and con>nuing eastbound to the intersec>on
of Brown Street and South Pine Street.

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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)
Name of Street: Brown Street
Side: South
Time Limit; Hours/Day: 2 hours; 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Loca>on: Beginning east of the intersec>on of Brown Street and
North Union Street and con>nuing eastbound to the intersec>on
of Brown Street and Poplar Street.

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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)
Name of Street: Poplar Street
Side: West
Time Limit; Hours/Day: 2 hours; 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Loca>on: Beginning south of the intersec>on of Poplar Street
and Brown Street and con>nuing eastbound to the end of the
curb at the south corner of the Press and Journal (on Poplar
Street)/northern edge of the M&T Bank exit (on Poplar Street).
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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)
Name of Street: Mill Street
Side: North and South
Time Limit; Hours/Day: 2 hours; 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Loca>on: Beginning west of the intersec>on of Mill Street and
Poplar Street and con>nuing westbound to the intersec>on of
Mill Street and South Union Street.

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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)

E.) Permit parking: Parking marked as Permit

Parking Only within the Downtown Business
District Amtrak Zone shall be limited to those
vehicles properly displaying an ocial Borough
of Middletown placard. Vehicles with no placard
shall be in viola>on of the provisions of this
chapter. Permit parking zone indicated in the
areas below:
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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)
Name of Street: Brown Street
Side: South
Permit Only
Loca>on: Beginning west of the unnamed alley at the west side
of 100 Brown Street and con>nuing westbound to the
intersec>on of Brown Street and Poplar Street.

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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)
Name of Street: Poplar Street
Side: East
Permit Only
Loca>on: Beginning south of the intersec>on of Brown Street
and Poplar Street and con>nuing southbound to the intersec>on
of Poplar Street and Mill Street.

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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)
(E.1) Distribu>on of placards:
Each of the owners of the following property, within
the Borough's corporate limits and con>guous to
the Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone areas
marked as Permit Parking Only, shall receive three
placards. Residents wishing to obtain such placards
shall make applica>on to the Borough Manager.
Placards shall allow unrestricted parking use within
the areas marked Permit Parking Only in the
Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone by
property owners, tenants, or guests. No fee be will
charged for applica>ons granted.
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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)

(E.1) Distribu>on of placards cont:

(a) Brown Street: 36, 42, 47, and 48
(b) Poplar Street: 126

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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)

(E.2) A limited number of placards shall be made

available to all residents of the Borough of
Middletown. Residents that wish to obtain a
placard must make applica>on to the Borough
Manager, who is authorized to issue such
placards, and must provide proof of residency
and an explana>on of need to park at
designated area marked Permit Parking Only
in the Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.
No fee will be charged for applica>ons granted.
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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)

(E.3) Placards shall be clearly displayed on the

dashboard, placed between the steering wheel
and front windshield, of each vehicle parked on
the street. Failure to properly display a placard
may result in cita>on for illegal parking. Boat
trailers, recrea>on vehicles, and other
miscellaneous vehicles require a placard in order
to be parked on the street.
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252-26.2 Downtown Business District Amtrak Zone.

(NEW)

(E.4) Placards are transferable between vehicles

and are the responsibility of the aforemen>oned
recipient. Recipients may temporarily assign
their placards to visitors or service vehicles that
require on-street parking. A fee may be charged
for lost or damaged placards.

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