Carbon County is working with the state to figure out how to best utilize the Josiah White Park area for both vendors and pedestrians.

On Thursday, the commissioners and Jennifer Boger, executive secretary/open records, provided an update on the $18,000 Peer Grant the county received regarding completing a study to determine the most beneficial layout within the park for visitors. Jim Thorpe sees approximately 400,000 people come through the downtown area annually.

Boger said that she met with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources earlier this week and they are waiting on the contract. Once that is finalized, the group has heard from six entities that are interested in completing the survey and project.

“We’re going to see what they are going to offer us and what will be good or not,” she said.

The focal point of the project remains handling the pedestrian flow through the park and the best placement for the vendors that rent space for the year.

“Obviously, you have a vendor standing right in the path of pedestrian traffic, that’s causing some issues,” commissioners’ Chairman Mike Sofranko said.

In November, the county applied for the Peer Grant, with an agreement from Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau to provide the funds for the 10% match.

Shortly after, the county was notified it was successful in securing the grant.

Boger said Thursday that she expects the study and solutions to take approximately one year to complete.

On-street sidewalks

Also Thursday, the board discussed additional items related to visitor experience in downtown Jim Thorpe, including creating larger walking areas from the parking lot to the train station; parking and restroom facility challenges.

On weekends, Carbon County has been closing off the street parking next to the train station to use as a walkway for pedestrians coming from the parking lot.

“We have found out that by having that blocked off from heavy traffic, it is a huge help on traffic coming out of the parking lot and how people flow through there,” Sofranko said. “We’re working out how we can do that on a regular basis.”

He noted that because of those spots being on a state highway, it would include state permits and easements before anything could become permanent in that area.

“PennDOT would very much like us to eliminate the parking of the cars coming out onto the street,” Sofranko said.

Commissioner Rocky Ahner said during a meeting with state officials on Tuesday that he told them the county would like to get rid of that parking because it is a safety issue, but there are steps both the county and state need to take before it happens.

“We want to try and make it better. … That’s why we’re giving it up,” he said. “I mean, we’re giving dollars up for the parking there to make it safer and to make it easier for transportation.”

Ahner said that he may have more information after another meeting with the state that is slated for April. However, he echoed Boger’s thoughts saying that may take the county a year or so.

Parking problems

When asked about the loss of those spots and if the county had any plans to make up for them somewhere or address the parking problems, the commissioners said that while it would be nice to put up a parking garage, there are several factors that would cause more of a short-term headache without a long-term solution.

Commissioner Wayne Nothstein said that putting up a parking garage could take away from the aesthetics of Jim Thorpe, and questioned where people would park during the time the garage would be build.

He noted that current figures for a garage estimate that it would cost approximately $20,000 per parking space to build.

“What is the rate of return? What are we going to lose in the meantime? How are we going to finance it? How many cars can we park?” Nothstein asked. “Yeah, it looks nice on paper, but ... it would be very challenging to do that.”

Busting at the seams

The board also pointed to Jim Thorpe already being stressed to the point that it cannot always handle the number of visitors coming from the trains or from out of the area because of the lack of space to create larger walking areas, more food options and better traffic patterns.

It also affects neighboring communities and local residents because traversing through the town becomes difficult as people flock to the borough.

Ultimately, Sofranko said, the commissioners have to take three things into consideration: parking, pedestrians and quality of life for the residents.

Nothstein added a fourth point: porta-potties. The county has been renting 24 portable toilets that are placed around the parking lots. They take away parking spaces, while also adding up in cost.

“We lose a lot of spaces trying to fix things (the bathroom situation),” Ahner said.

A bright spot of parking fees

The commissioners said that one really big benefit to the parking lot that has been realized in recent years is that revenue from visitor parking is helping local residents by keeping the county taxes level.

“In the past three years, we have been able to take between a million and a half to a $1.7 million out of the county funds to offset budget shortfalls,” Sofranko said. “So when people say, well, what does the county or I as a taxpayer get out of tourism, that works out to about anywhere from a mill to a mill and a half in taxes.

“If we didn’t have that, then there would be county services that would have to be cut to make up that budget shortfall. ... We’d have to raise taxes higher than what they are and we don’t want to raise taxes.”

Carbon County’s parking lot is currently $8 on weekdays and $25 on weekends and holidays, which Ahner said is lower than a lot of the areas around the country.

“If you travel anywhere else in the country, we’re probably one of the lowest rates for (daily) parking,” he said, noting that when he went to Harrisburg for a meeting with state officials, he paid $41 for parking.

“Some counties even charge their employees to park,” Nothstein added.