Residents of Fern Street in Jim Thorpe attended the borough council meeting Thursday night to protest Mayor Michael Sofranko's proposed parking changes.

Last month, Sofranko said it was brought to his attention that parking on the street had become an issue.Parking is currently allowed on both sides, and residents were having problems getting out of their driveways.Because the street is narrow, he said that emergency vehicles would have difficulty getting through.Fern Street is near Memorial Park, JimThorpe High School and Lehigh Carbon Community College.To solve the issue, he recommended that the borough enforce no parking on Fern Street from Olympian Way to East 13 Street.The first to show concern at the meeting was resident Richard Tamplin, who measured the street himself. His wife, Joan, presented pictures to council.Tamplin said that the street is 12 feet across, from his parked pickup to the property line across the street, which leaves plenty of room for an eight-foot firetruck to drive through.He mentioned that the garbage truck has no problem getting up the street."We don't want to park on Cedar Street," he said, explaining that his family parks four cars in both his garage and driveway.He suggested that the borough designate only one side of the street to have no parking.Various other Fern Street residents began to speak up, many pointing out that tractor-trailers and delivery trucks never had any issue driving up the street.Randy Smith, whose property borders Fern Street, said it is likely that emergency vehicles can successfully get through the narrow street, but "emergencies never happen at a good time," meaning times when events are held at Memorial Park or the High School, when parking on the street becomes cumbersome.Another resident noted that Race Street is a one-way street, and cars have a hard time getting through.Sandy Fink asked why Fern Street was being "singled out.""You're being singled out because somebody came and asked a question," Sofranko said.He said that he and police chief Joe Schatz measured the street as well, finding that vehicles have roughly 12 feet to drive."The problem is, if you've ever gone to a fire, not one truck responds. It's usually two. They need to pass each other on the street."He said that the cartway is required to be 16 to 18 feet wide, and with parking on both sides, it is impossible for two emergency vehicles to get through."If (council) were to keep it a two-way street, you need to have no parking to get firetrucks up and down the street side by side," Sofranko said.He said that all options are being considered, and public safety was first priority.Residents were willing to compromise, and suggested the street be designated as a one way.Borough council will continue to deliberate the matter.Until next month's meeting, residents on Fern Street agreed to adjust their vehicles to allow others to access their driveways more efficiently.In other business, Sofranko said that Schatz will assess the heavy traffic due near bridge construction, hoping to find a way to alleviate some of the congestion.