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City employees with an old "back-in parking" sign on Court Street on October 27, 2016. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

Most of the back-in angle parking spaces on Court Street in downtown Binghamton are being converted to parallel parking.

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Mayor Richard David discussing the Court Street parking changes during a radio interview. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

Mayor Richard David on Thursday said the city now is implementing the long-anticipated change.

Speaking on WNBF Radio's Binghamton Now program, David said public works employees would make the design changes over the next few days.

The angle parking spaces are to be removed between State and Water streets. The mayor said the back-in angle parking cannot be removed between Chenango and State streets because of the roadway design.

David said there had been "a tidal wave of frustration and concern and, really, anger regarding the difficulty" of backing into the spaces.

Last March, the mayor said he intended to remove the back-in spaces. He said 20 of the spaces will be removed.

Former Mayor Matthew Ryan said the back-in angle parking spaces were put in place in 2012 as part of the Court Street Gateway Project.

Ryan said the city followed the guidance of design professionals in developing the parking scheme.

The former mayor said it "seems a shame now that people are finally getting used to it, they're getting rid of it."

David said police records indicate 1,793 parking tickets were issued due to improper parking at the back-in spaces.

Fines for such tickets can run as high as $70, suggesting vehicle owners could have paid more than $125,000 in penalties for ignoring the signs on the three-block section of Court Street.

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The original outline for the back-in space on Court Street in September 2012. [Bob Joseph/WNBF News][/caption]

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