Jim Thorpe Borough Council will consider a request next week to post no parking signs in a portion of the north side of the 200 block of School Alley.

Center Avenue resident Joseph O’Keefe addressed council at Thursday night’s workshop with concerns over two vehicles that he said are routinely parked in the alley, blocking access to his garage.

“We’ve attempted to resolve the issue civilly with the owners of the vehicles that are parked there, but it hasn’t gone over well,” O’Keefe said. “It not only blocks the access to my garage, but it also keeps the borough from efficiently plowing the alley in the winter and keeps fire apparatus from safely navigating that area.”

Police Chief Joe Schatz said the alley is tight because of vehicles that park there, but said it would be council’s decision whether to post no parking for the entire alley or deal with requests on a case-by-case basis.

“Our sergeant went up there at night to see what kind of impact it would have on the residents, and he said that alley does get parked up pretty good at night,” Schatz said. “We of course want to make sure Mr. O’Keefe can get in and out of his garage, but it may be something to do on a case-by-case basis rather than posting the whole alley.”

O’Keefe said posting the narrow area across from his garage would suit his needs as “most everyone else in the alley parks on their private property.”

“I know freeing up that one area would help many of my neighbors as well and they have signed the petition I’m presenting to council,” O’Keefe said.

Mayor Michael Sofranko said historically when a parking issue couldn’t be worked out between neighbors, the whole block was marked no parking.

“Usually when you say you’re doing no parking on the whole block, everyone finds a place to park and it all works out,” he said. “That solved similar issues on Fern Street and School Street in the past. The Heights is a different beast because when snow emergencies come, there is nowhere to go with vehicles, so I understand the situation council is facing right now.”

The item will be on the agenda for Thursday night’s council meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Memorial Hall.