Lansford Borough Council discussed two different parking problems and ways to control them on Tuesday night.

Council Vice President Jay Doyle hopes to find an ordinance dealing with people putting garbage cans in the street when they move their cars.

He pointed to a situation on West Water Street, where at least one whole block of parking is taken up with garbage cans from Cortright Street to the area near his home.

“It doesn’t matter who you are, you could be a delivery person and you’re not going to be able to park there,” Doyle said.

Years ago, the borough used to take garbage cans and other items left in the street, he said, and he’d like to find the ordinance that allows the borough to do that.

“If it’s not (allowed) … then we’re going to start picking them up and we’re going to start throwing them out,” Doyle said.

Years ago, the mayor and police would pick them up, hold them for 24 hours and if people didn’t call to retrieve them, they would be put in the trash, Councilman Joseph Butrie said.

Doyle would like to find the ordinance and post it on the borough’s website - so that everyone would know what will happen if they leave the cans in the street.

Resident Joe Genits said that the borough’s sanitation ordinance states that no trash cans or trash is allowed out other than on the night before collection.

“Well, that’s the one that’s going to get put out there,” Doyle said. “We’re going to start removing them.”

Signs

Doyle also suggested getting rid of no parking signs in certain areas, if there is going to be no enforcement.

A truck can’t get down East Water Street with the number of cars parked there, despite the signs, he said.

“There’s at least 15 cars there. You can’t get nothing down that street,” Doyle said. “If they’re going to park there and we’re not going to enforce it, we may as well change the sign.”

Council President Bruce Markovich said the signs on East Water Street were put up at the request of the fire company, because they couldn’t get an engine down the street.

“They requested that we put those signs up to keep people from parking,” he said.

The borough should enforce those no parking areas for the fire company, Councilwoman Jennifer Staines said.

“Anyone here, you’d want to know a firetruck can get down, if your house is on fire,” she said. “I think it needs to be enforced.”

Resident Denise Leibensperger suggested they talk to the police chief about enforcement.

Doyle also pointed out there was no enforcement of parking rules on Sharpe Street in the winter, and suggested those signs come down, too. The borough can post the street when there are snow days, Doyle said.

“There were no tickets given all winter long and there were nine cars there all winter long,” he said.

Leibensperger suggested a meeting with the police and borough workers to come up with a plan for next winter regarding ticketing or towing.

“We have to do a much better job this year coming up than last year, because nobody moved anything,” Doyle said.