A loading/unloading zone at the Molly Maguire’s Pub and Restaurant in Jim Thorpe is on the chopping block, according to borough officials.

Council voted April 13 to authorize its solicitor to draft an ordinance that will eliminate the zone. The move, according to council, is being done in part to help accommodate a project that will see parking spaces realigned downtown and also because the zone is not being used for its original purpose.

“The only loading being done is garbage in the back of a pickup truck,” Councilman Robert Schaninger said. “I take a loading zone to mean you get in and you get out. To park all day and just be a portable trash can, I don’t think that’s a loading zone.”

Darren Behan, co-owner of Molly Maguire’s, said he plans to attend borough meetings to discuss the situation with council.

Councilman Kyle Sheckler said the zone was originally approved by the borough for guests staying in the rooms above the restaurant to load and unload their bags.

“It was not designated for the purpose it’s being used for today, which is shuttling garbage to the dumpster,” he said. “It was for guests to take check in, take their bags up and then move the vehicle.”

In November, council denied a request from Henry Marin, owner of Antonio’s Pizza at 43 Broadway, for a 15-minute parking spot for use by his drivers making deliveries to customers.

According to Schaninger, the same rules should be applied to the Molly’s loading zone.

“We didn’t give Antonio’s a space and this truck is parked at Molly’s all day, every day,” he said. “I think we should eliminate the zone entirely.”

The zone came under the spotlight due to the borough’s desire to redraw parking spaces downtown. According to a proposal approved Wednesday, the new parking lines would give the borough 86 spaces downtown compared to the current 74, including nine extra spaces in the Broadway area along. Parking, according to Schaninger, will be at a 30-degree angle and the spaces will primarily be 11 feet wide.

Schaninger said he, along with Police Chief Joe Schatz, Public Services Manager Vince Yaich and parking consultant Wayne Horn, recently looked at the existing parking spaces and feel there is significant wasted space.

“Just look down there by the 5 and 10 store,” Schaninger said, “it’s really wide. The parking would be at a little bit of a different angle, but this can work. We can also probably have full-size cars parked in there without being an issue.”

Jim Thorpe passed an ordinance last year to restrict parking in the first block of Broadway to compact and subcompact vehicles, but later backed off that.

“What some areas do,” Schaninger said, “is mark the back of the spot and the vehicle has to be inside of that mark or they get a ticket.”

Changes would also be made to the parking spaces between Molly’s and Route 209. Motorists currently pull straight in to the spots, but the six spaces will become angle parking.

“Our recent parking study recommended angle parking instead of the current way you back out because of course it’s safer,” Schatz said.