DATA: Number of Parking Tickets Up Slightly

More little yellow envelopes are being stuffed under car wiper blades in Kent this year compared with last year.

Through April this year, Kent has issued a total of 1,125 parking tickets compared with 1,071 citations issued during the same period in 2011, according to the .

That's a difference of 54 tickets, or an increase of 5 percent.

The reasons for the increase are hard to pin down, and whether or not road closures for construction and the construction workers — who must find a place to park downtown all day — contributed to the increase so far is hard to say.

And even though tickets are on the rise so far this year that doesn't mean Kent is necessarily issuing more tickets than previous years. In fact, 2011 saw fewer parking tickets issued than the previous two years.

The number of tickets issued per month breaks down as follows:

Parking Tickets 

The number of tickets issued in the past three years:

Total Parking 

Tickets Issued

There may be some relief in sight for drivers struggling to find a place to park, as will be added in the middle of the city's redevelopment block, the new will add parking on East Main Street and the will include more than 300 parking spaces.