An Jim Thorpe Borough ordinance passed last month to restrict parking in the first block of Broadway to compact and subcompact vehicles has business owners concerned for their bottom line.

Borough officials said the intent of the resolution was to create more room on an already tight street for vehicles, particularly those of the emergency response variety, to get through without potentially hitting a parked vehicle.

Though Jim Thorpe police have not started enforcing the ordinance yet, business owners have predictions when it comes to the potential ripple effects.

Tami Davenport, who owns the Wear It Again and Decorate It Again consignment boutique stores at 41 and 25 Broadway respectively, said during Thursday night’s council meeting that while nobody is against safety, she has trouble envisioning how her customers will get items to their vehicles.

“We have a furniture store,” she said. “Is someone going to walk down Broadway with a couch and carry it to the county parking lot? It isn’t going to happen.”

Davenport said 12 women had appointments to bring crates full of clothing to her consignment shop on Thursday. Many times, she said, they would drive loops around Broadway until a spot opened up in front of the store. If they don’t drive a compact or subcompact car, however, that would now be against the ordinance.

Mayor Michael Sofranko said it is unlikely officers would ticket someone if they knew it was a drop-off situation, but did acknowledge that cherry picking enforcement has caused problems in the past.

“Police have tried to work with everyone and that has really jammed things up down there,” Sofranko said. “Deliveries are a big issue as well. Everyone knows when you have a UPS truck down on Broadway or a beer truck over on Race Street, you can’t get through.”

Just down the street from the consignment shops is Soundcheck Records, where owner Jim “Trooper” Pompa said the borough could have started by allowing a little bit larger vehicles and worked their way down in size until they found what alleviated the safety issue.

“Instead,” Pompa told council, “you went right down to compact cars at the expense of my bottom line.”

Davenport said she already pays for her employees’ parking costs and can’t afford to lose business because a customer can’t park near the store.

“If I didn’t pay for their parking, my employees would lose the wages from their first hour of work just to pay to park for the day,” she said.

Over the years, Sofranko said, the borough has tried to cram more and more parking spots in downtown. It may be time, he added, to have the public works department restripe parking lines that align with safety standards, even if it means several spots could be lost in the process.

“Council members (Mike) Yeastedt and (Bob) Schaninger have suggested measuring and drawing the lines properly and at first I didn’t agree with them, but I was wrong,” Sofranko said. “Maybe that is the way to go.”

Schaninger said he has a contact who would come in and consult the borough on the matter at no cost. He also addressed potentially looking at specific times where deliveries are allowed downtown.

“I’ve driven truck and delivered to every major city on the East Coast,” Schaninger said. “Almost all of them have a time, maybe a four-hour period, where you can get deliveries and then after that everyone is ticketed. If that is what we have to do, that is what we have to do.”

Parking has been a common topic of conversation at council meetings for decades.

For Jay Miller, who is going off council after last week’s meeting, there is only one solution.

“God stopped making land over there a long time ago,” Miller said. “The only answer is another parking lot. We’re never going to please everyone on Broadway and West Broadway, but we do need a pressure valve, especially when permit parking kicks in on West Broadway.”