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Residents press Lebanon City for residential parking permits near Good Samaritan Hospital; mayor directs study and interim enforcement steps
Summary
Neighbors on South Fourth Street asked the council to enact permit parking to curb hospital employee parking; the mayor said the city will research options and implement interim measures with hospital cooperation and targeted enforcement.
Mary Coyle, a South Fourth Street resident, appealed to Lebanon City Council on Aug. 25 for a residential parking-permit program on her block, citing sustained daytime parking by hospital employees and a lack of off-street parking for residents. Coyle said most homeowners on the block have no off-street spaces and estimated that more than 50% of nearby hospital-owned lots sit empty while employees park on neighborhood streets.
Coyle identified the block as one block south of Good Samaritan Hospital and said the neighborhood has six homes on the west side and institutional uses on adjacent lots. She told council she submitted documents showing lot locations and counts to support her request.
Mayor (name not specified) acknowledged the problem and said he had discussed the issue with hospital leadership, who acknowledged the concern and expressed support for enforcement efforts. The mayor said the hospital leased 42 spaces from a church after a generator project and that a previously used employee shuttle had been discontinued. He also noted hospital access changes after the York Hospital shooting reduced entrances and may have altered parking patterns.
The mayor told residents that Pennsylvania law does not require a traffic study before adopting a residential parking-permit program but said the city must evaluate traffic impacts, visitor parking, multiple vehicles per household and other logistics. He described the HACC permit program used previously as simpler because it did not displace other daytime parking. For the South Fourth Street request, he said staff will perform research and follow procedures to “do it correctly.” As an interim measure, the mayor said hospital security will place warning notices on employees’ windshields for illegal parking and will call Lebanon Police Department; LPD will issue tickets when available.
Council asked clarifying questions about how many homes are affected (Coyle said six on one side of the street) and whether similar streets are affected. The mayor said staff will investigate other nearby facilities and parking changes and return with options.
No formal action was taken at the meeting; the council directed staff to research permit-program logistics and pursue short-term coordination with the hospital and LPD for enforcement.
