Darby Township passes fine on spot saving

Better think twice before you drag that patio chair out to the street to save your snow cleared parking spot.  Darby Township is preparing to implement a new law that would fine those who reserve spaces with chairs or other objects up to $300. 

Township commissioners approved the ordinance last night, which would also punish those who shovel snow into plowed streets.

Driving down the narrow streets of Upper Darby, it doesn’t take long to come across an assortment of chairs, traffic cones, and trash cans lining the curb.  On Thursday, as the bright sun began to melt packed snow into slippery slush, some Darby Township residents, like James Harmon, say the fights that often break out over parking spots need to stop.

“If someone dig(s) out a spot for the car, and you come along and want to fight the person or shoot the person, it’s very stupid.  I would never do anything like that,” Harmon said.  “If I dig out a place, even if there’s six feet of snow, if someone comes along and parks there, fine.  I’ll find somewhere else to park.”

Harmon says he supports the new ordinance.  But others, like Lovie Knowles, say there’s a good reason spot saving has become a tradition.

“I just think if people dig out that space, that should be their space.  You know, they should leave these people alone.  Everybody doesn’t have driveway,” she said.

Technically, saving spaces is already against the law.  The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code prohibits obstructing traffic with objects.