(Photo via Getty Images).
The total count of parking tickets issued in the city of Cortland has reached past a number that hasn’t been seen since 2014.
According to a breakdown of the total number of tickets issued in the city, this year it went over 5,000 (5,037). In 2014, a total of 5,115 parking tickets were issued, marking the first time in eight years the total count has seen 5,000-or-more parking tickets.
Between 2015 and 2021, parking tickets issued reached 4,500-or-less each year.
A couple of the months this year cracked numbers not seen in more than a decade, according to the breakdown. In February, 805 parking tickets were issued, a number that hasn’t jumped over 800 in that specific month since 2006 (830).
In April of this year, 666 parking tickets were issued. The last time the month of April saw over 600 tickets was in 2010 (716).
“Numbers are certainly going back up,” City police chief Paul Sandy said at Thursday’s Police Commission meeting, noting the mix of parking tickets issued between college students and community members.
Sandy mentioned the total number this year would’ve been “much higher” if city police wasn’t lenient on issuing parking tickets during Cortland’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative construction on Main Street during the summer and early fall months.
Sandy and deputy chief David Guerrera collectively noted they don’t expect a major increase or decrease in parking tickets issued when the city rolls out its new electronic parking system.
“(Parking tickets) actually may go down a little once people understand (the new system),” Sandy said, noting it ultimately “depends on the clientele.”
Details on the city’s new and upcoming electronic parking system remain to be seen.
