It's Our City is a project that uses TV, Radio and Web
to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.Is the Philadelphia Parking Authority scaring away tourists?
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009 at 5:40 pm - by Alan Tu. Filed under: Community.
I never watched A&E’s hit show Parking Wars until this afternoon. But after reading yesterday’s Philadelphia Inquirer story about why local tourism officials hate that show, I had to check it out. You can too because all of the episodes can be watched online at A&E’s Parking Wars website.
According to the story, Meryl Levitz, president of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism & Marketing Corp, thinks the reality program that shows the Philadelphia Parking Authority employees ticketing and towing cars is scaring away tourists. She told the Inquirer “This show is an assault on our city.” She’s even complained to Mayor Michael Nutter. Levitz says her organization has been getting a lot of emails and letters from people who say they’ll never come to Philadelphia after watching the show.
There’s nothing Levitz can do to stop the show. In fact, it’s third season is about to begin and the producers are promising more meltdowns.
Here’s an excerpt from the A&E Parking Wars website.
All roads in Philly still lead to the impound lot - the “car prison” where tempers flare as drivers struggle to get their cars back. This season a man becomes so outraged that no one can calm him down.
I think if you watch the show you’ll see that it doesn’t make PPA out to be evil-doers in fact it shows a fairly balanced view of the abuse PPA workers take but also empathize with the many citizens who get caught up in the PPA bureaucracy while trying to get back their impounded car.
It’s a pretty entertaining show but on the question of whether it’s good or bad for Philadelphia tourism it’s hard to decide. Because sometimes, just having TV shows feature your city helps introduce people to your city even if most of them are screaming or about to cry. I kind of like seeing Philadelphia on TV. Half the fun of Parking Wars is seeing all the familiar locations and making mental notes of how PPA officers track down their prey.
A&E has an online video game associated with Parking Wars. You have to park the car legally before the PPA tow-truck finds you
So, I open up the forum to you. Is Parking Wars good or bad for Philadelphia?
June 10th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Alan,
I think you know how I feel about this one. Unlike so much of the commenterati who use stories like this as an excuse to bash the city and proclaim, one again, that they’ll never come into Center City because it’s too expensive to park, I say… keep up the enforcement PPA! If a driver can’t do the time then he or she shouldn’t do the crime. Make sure your meter is filled, don’t park illegally and you won’t get a ticket.
If those $3/hour rates for meter parking are too expensive… don’t pay them. Park somewhere else and take the train into Center City. The folks who are willing to pay those rates will be glad to have more spots to choose from and not have to spend time circling the blocks looking for an open space. The store owners will appreciate that people are more likely to find spaces in front of their stores as well.
And for those of you who want to see what you can get away with… well take a look at Parking Wars and see what’s in store for you.
(PS… at it’s height, this show has only ever attracted a million viewers… such viewership is hardly going to make a statistical dent in tourism. So the philly.com story, based on some anecdotes with absolutely no hard facts or statistical evidence is really just sensationalism at its worst and a cheap ploy for a 200+ comment piece.)
June 11th, 2009 at 9:09 am
I am afraid that the show, the subsequent story, and this post have missed the real story about PPA. PPA is a Republican patronage mill, and before that it was a Democratic patronage mill. The entire agency, and all of its workers, should be fired and rebuilt from scratch using civil service standards from top to bottom. Until that is done, it really doesn’t matter whether PPA workers or policies are “good” or “bad.” The entire agency is tainted by partisan politics, and will be until we start over.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Thank you for this thoughtful post, Alan. I think it’s important to note that GPTMC is working with the PPA to publish information about Philadelphia parking for visitors and residents at http://www.gophila.com/parking.
And! Visitors can avoid the parking issue entirely by booking a Philly Overnight Hotel Package with free hotel parking! (Sorry, had to slip that little sales pitch in there. But it’s appropriate.)
June 13th, 2009 at 8:22 pm
I’ll ditto George above. Philadelphians who are concerned about what’s good for Philly, would do better to focus less on an A&E show and more on what’s actually happening on the public (and the schools’) dime at the PPA.
June 20th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Just to let you know they got me on a bogus ticket. I laughed at a PA ticket pouncer as I was at a red light and he mouthed off to me. As I was driving away I told him to “Have a Day” leaving out the word nice. This was at 16th and Walnut.
Two weeks later I had a Ticket in the mail. The Lackey just copied my License plate into his ticketing system and wrote me for being illgally parked at the 1700 block.
Tried to challenge it at a hearing and they ruled against me. I walked out refusing to pay. Now they want to come to Jersey and sieze my car.
Good luck jerko’s.
BTW, I used to hold a weekend meeting at the Marriott twice a year for my company but we will now patronize the Shore and New York. Nice going Philly.
Who’s gonna hurt in the long run?
August 1st, 2009 at 4:02 pm
http://www.phillyparkingrevolt.com
Talk about it there.
August 10th, 2009 at 11:11 am
I live in center city and get tickets when I am parked legally (I have a permit). I get tickets in areas I never park in. I am constantly told it’s an “accident”. One time I got 5 tickets, in one week, from the same ticketing officer. Other times I have gotten tickets in the mail (that’s because my car was never parked where they claimed it was). The PPA is a business that is in the right and you are in the wrong. Oh and they are corrupt.
August 10th, 2009 at 2:53 pm
@Al. If what you say is true, this is outrageous behavior on the part of PPA. They don’t show this on TV. I’d send a little note to your local state rep to complain. Nothing will change unless you create a campaign saying you’ve had enough of these random tickets.
August 26th, 2009 at 8:25 am
Caroline,
I am very intrigued by the fact that you get free parking if you stay at hotel. The only problem is, I have no reason to stay at a hotel.
I live approximately 45 minutes from my work which is located at 30th and Market. I start work at 5:00 A.M. to take the train to work, because Septa’s first train arrives around 6:30 A.M.. I have a parking space at work, which I can only use during the hours that I am working. What is your suggestion, drive home and take the train in? Spend $12-$15 on a parking lot? No thank you. I will simply drive home and utilize the activities in the Counties.
Until Philadelphia realizes the difficulty it takes to come into the city, the city mine as well forget about those advertisements posted on the bus stops, i.e. “Dear Burbs, Your lawnmower gave you the weekend off. Come Play.” I will tell you one thing, I will come play. I will play where I can afford to park. This suburbanite likes Philadelphia, but does not need Philadelphia. I would shop in the city if it added the 8% sales tax. I will not with the parking situation.
September 25th, 2009 at 12:50 am
So I have been spending the last hour trying to figure out if I should pay a ticket to this lame company. I can tell you … I will never visit this city again because of this city trash. I am out of state and wanted to come see the bell, I parked in what looked like a ok spot got a meter and paid it. went to look at the bell. came back to find that I had a 300 fine for a handicap spot. Ok fine, I have no idea that handicap park on street they dont do that in my city. no excuse but sorry. when i tried to contest they wouldn’t let me, to make it better. I went back to look at the spot and conveniently the part that said Handicap was in the leaves of the tree. I took a picture and went back. more fines. f this city and f this parking company. I will never come back ever. ever. f u city.
October 6th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
I love the Show… but after seeing it…there is NO way I will be visiting Philly. I will take my vacation and business dollars else where… most cities go out of their way to welcome tourist, and rental cars philly prays upon them…. and seems to take great pride in seeing how many times they can make a person come back to the car lot before they can retrive their cars..just to get a few more dollars for storage
October 7th, 2009 at 2:15 am
I love the show but would never visit the city, it is a bureaucratic money machine. I only know of one city that will fine the UPS driver and any other delivery driver they get a chance to fine.
Not to mention the run around they give people. Philadelphia should be embarrassed and worried about tourism. Besides that the city looks ran down and dirty.
The streets are all tore up with all the money the city makes off the corruption you would think they would spend some of it maintaining the roads. Your city looks tore up and trashy at best!
But hey thanks for the great show it is entertaining and makes me appreciate where i live even more. After 6 pm you don’t have to feed the meter you can park for free.
October 7th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Alan and Jim -
I’m sorry to hear the TV show makes you think twice about visiting our vibrant, historical, cultural city.
The good thing about visiting Philadelphia is that it’s so walkable — you don’t need to drive! And we have the Philly Overnight Hotel Package with its free hotel parking.
Last, if you really feel the need to drive, you can get tips and information here:
http://www.gophila.com/parking
http://www.gophila.com/parkingdeals
We do hope you’ll reconsider and come see us!
-From Caroline in the Philadelphia Tourism office
October 10th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
listen people. this show isnt causing people not to come to philly. i mean jesus how dumb can u be if u would re consiter comming to a city becuase your scared of what might happen if you park on the wrong side of the street. people arent comming to philly cus its going broke and has an extremely high crime rate. also in the mind of a tourist…why go to philly if u can go to ny. c’mon really.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
Let me add my name to the list of people who will not return to Philadelphia after being towed. I have no problem accepting responsibility for my parking mistake. I do, however, have a problem with confusing parking signs that have similar appearance yet totally different messages that are placed only feet apart.
Something as simple as pavement markings that indicates which spaces follow a different parking procedure would be a huge improvement. When I returned, I thought my car had been stolen. I read 2 different signs placed just feet apart that obviously had 2 completely different messages.
But, you know, Philadelphia, the $150 towing fee did not come out of my pocket. It came out of the pockets of your hotel, your restaurants, and your attractions. Because, I left your city after I retrieved my car, canceling my $200 hotel room, skipping my $100 dinner, and avoiding the expenses of paying at your attractions. I guess you could say that I actually made money off of your eagerness to take my car. I can assure you - it will not happen again.
October 15th, 2009 at 9:49 am
@Paul - I don’t want to sound like a broken record in these comments but please note we have tried to address situations like yours with the information on our parking deals page: http://www.gophila.com/parkingdeals. I hope you can find something there to help you take advantage of all this city has to offer.
@Gary - Please stay tuned. Since all cities have different signage for parking, we are soon to release some videos which might help people read our parking signs more easily.
October 16th, 2009 at 3:26 pm
On Monday I walked into Starbucks on Third to get quarters. In the time that I got back to my car I had a ticket.
I kid you not. I broke down in tears on the street. (This is NOT my first ticket…)
There are times when I truly believe the PPA no longer cares how extreme its actions are. No matter how many residents are pushed out of the city, or how many tourists are kept away, it’s worth it if they can earn another $32. It’s absolute economic madness.
October 17th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Gary, couldn’t agree with you more-I WILL NEVER SPEND MONEY IN PHILADELPHIA AGAIN.
October 18th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
I worked in Philadelphia downtown only for 3 weeks and most of the parking meter hours are from 8 AM to 8 PM. I saw the parking inspectors giving tickets right before 8 PM.
I did get a ticket and when I went to pay my ticket on their website, it said I was issued another ticket a couple of days back and the worst part of it is there was never a ticket placed on my car that day. Seems like most people like me do pay the “Unofficial” tickets also, just to avoid the hassle later on in future. I would never go back to Philly downtown
October 24th, 2009 at 5:24 pm
Caroline,
I think your missing the point with Gary and the others. As a resident of the city I see the PPA in all of their glory. The PPA is out of control and only exists for their own good. They do nothing to improve the quality of life in the city. In fact, it is quite the opposite. They cost the city not only in the short time but also in the long run because the citys’ image takes yet another hit.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:36 am
Yes, I’m sure it’s scaring away tourists, or at least day trippers that might want to visit historical sites, museums or enjoy the Arts. I’ve lived in Philadelphia for the better part of 25 years now. Scaring away tourists is certainly a valid concern when confronting the rabid excesses of the PPA, however, having had my South Philadelphia neighborhood recently taken over by these thinly veiled hoodlums, I am going to leave a city that I dearly love. Apparently the current administration feels that the pittance that they receive from one of, if not the most reputedly corrupt organizations in the US is worth driving away tourists, commerce, and residents. It’s too sad to dwell on, but I will miss everything about this town other than the pure greed and pandering that the PPA represents. I had such high hopes for Mayor Nutter and supported him diligently. If the PPA is the way to economic recovery then why not just let them run the city… well actually they kind of are, and that speaks volumes about the integrity of anyone in City Hall.
Sad farewell,
Dan
November 3rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
F@&”$ PPA! Hate my city for this crap! I’ll just go around hating everyone b/c PPA hates me ,
November 4th, 2009 at 12:07 am
I’m from Toronto Canada and the show certainly has affected our desire to visit the city. In reality we would probably not drive to Phillidelphia but it makes us wonder what else we would encounter in your there. I hope I’m not offending any citizens… only thought I would share that the show does not paint your city in a flattering light.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
We are going to NY to visit family in December and WILL NOT be stopping in Philly for anything. When someone makes a minor mistake parking and then has to pay that much just to get their car back its not worth taking any chances. You can keep your city and money hungry PPA workers.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
I disagree with those that claim the show’s impact won’t significantly affect tourism. In the absence of any other information, a national broadcast will carry the message — and the message here is one to make the visitor wary. (Sorry, if there’s a “Visit Philly” campaign, no one outside of the city has heard about it)
On the national front, Philadelphia should be having a terrific years, from sports coverage if nothing else. Yet even announcers (ESPN) have commented on the dangers of parking. That isn’t a mixed message, it is a stay-away message (or, at best, visit-at-your-own-risk.)
Philadelphia: A city known to the history books but one with a black mark against visiting today. That can be traced to the this show, the PPA and the reputation that needs to be addressed/corrected. City coffers will suffer a long-term (tax) loss against a short-term (parking fee) gain.
November 7th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
I don`t understand how anyone could possibly think this show would deter tourists. If anything it will pique people`s interest in seeing all the sites showcased. I am Canadian and have visited many US cities and the show has been added to my interest list. I watch Parking Wars all the time and I love, it could be taking part in any big city anywhere. I have seen streets that I would like to visit and it showcases restaurants and what they serve, how can that be bad. I want to come to Philly and have one of those cheese steak sandwiches I saw today. The whole Spanish quarter looks so interesting, if anything this show would attract curious tourists.
November 10th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
I lived in Philadelphia for 30 years, and I enjoy watching PARKING WARS. It’s very educational! LESSON ONE: READ THE SIGNS CAREFULLY. If it says “TOW-AWAY ZONE”, do not take a chance.
LESSON TWO: PAY YOUR TICKETS PROMPTLY. It’s never going to get cheaper!
I would much rather have learned from this show than the way I did, from experience. Getting towed one night (BEFORE cell phones or the Internet) made me a rigorous reader of signs. My parking expertise developed in Philadelphia has also been helpful to me in other cities. I don’t think Philadelphia is any worse than any other big congested Eastern city about parking — they are just the only ones with a television show. You try parking in downtown DC or NY and you will see what I mean.
PPA employees did not write these laws; they are just stuck with enforcing them. I really think Pennsylvanians ought to write to their legislature about that registration/insurance rule. If you let your car insurance lapse and then re-instate it, your registration is automatically suspended for 90 days. That seems really unfair and has been the final obstacle for many a person trying to get their car from the impound lot.
November 10th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
Because of the ppa I visit Philly as little as possible. If it were not for the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chamber Music Society concerts and the excellent concerts at Curtis I would probably not come into Philly at all. Mostly because of the PPA and their rude arrogant employees. When I first moved to the area I approached a PPA employee to ask a question and she just kept on walking without speaking or answering my question. PPA employees are rude arrogant scum!
November 10th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
I feel bad for the citizens they are overcharged, and giving the run around. Just so the goverment can take more money from them.I will never come near there. My family and, friends have also stated they will not go near there. I will pray for the citizens REMEMBER TO VOTE AND GET THE CREEPS OUT.
December 5th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
my daughter was given a phantom ticket while dropping a friend off at the bust terminal. the only contact she had with the ppa was an attendant told her she couldn’t park where she was stopped (she never got out of the car.) I got a citation in the mail (I live in Scranton and my daugter’s car is registered under both our names) for $96 because we didn’t pay the ticket in the time prescribed. SHE NEVER GOT A TICKET! I’ve been to my state rep, but apparently there’s not enough abuse this far away to warrant his attention (although every time I tell the story, someone has one to match). It seems like the “old days” are back with all the political corruption and abuse.
December 9th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
The parking authority is EVERYWHERE in the city at all times. It is never clear where is ok to park and if you park in a spot that they deem illegal, you will have a ticket. I know many people who will not come into the city with a car because of the PPA. I ride a bike most of the time but when I brought my car in from the suburbs one time and parked it very carefully it had two tickets on it for $24 each when I came back to check on it.
This business is corrupt in nature. Its income and self preservation are based completely on misleading regulations of public areas. It is not a civil service. It is a business and a successful one.
December 18th, 2009 at 10:58 pm
PPA IS THE WORST, I REPEAT THE WORST! THEY ARE A BUNCH OF CORRUPT, INSENSIBLE JERKS-ALL OF THEM. I HOPE TOURISM SUFFERS HUGE BLOWS SO THEY REALIZE HOW MUCH HARM THEY ARE CAUSING. HELLO! DONT THEY KNOW WE COME TO PATRONIZE THE CITY? IT MAKES IT THAT MUCH HARDER & IS A HUGE DETERRENT.
January 8th, 2010 at 2:56 am
I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO PHILLY & AFTER SEEING THE SHOW I WILL NEVER GO TO PHILLY. I WOULDN’T CARE IF I HAD TO DRIVE A HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES OUT OF MY WAY JUST TO AVOID THAT SCREWED UP CITY, THAT WOULD BE ALLOT BETER THAN DEALING WITH THERE CORRUPED GOVERNMENT & NAZI SCUM PPA EMPLOYEES!!!
January 26th, 2010 at 8:50 am
I am a Philadelphia RESIDENT. Actually I live only a few blocks west from the PPA HQ at 3101 Market - which incidentally is one of the most inconvenient places to park near. I HAVE a resident permit. However that permit does not extend to anyplace useful, like the art museum, the parking around 30th street, the parking around Penn’s campus, or anyplace in Center City. 9 times out of 10 when I come home (driving) there is no place to park, and so virtually ALL of my leisure activities are done OUTSIDE of Philly. When I used to work in CC, it took me 10 minutes to bicycle to work, but 35 minutes by Septa, yet only 45 minutes to WALK. So there it is, forget the show - that’s just icing on the cake, it’s the difficulty of TRANSPORTATION in general around the city, on top of parking shortages, that will discourage even the residents from spending time and money in the city.
February 3rd, 2010 at 1:00 pm
PPA is just out right ridiculous!
While it is understandable the just enforce the laws then you have to take the fight to those who enacted the laws.
City Council?
While some of the enforcement officers are douchebags! I have met many who are nice and helpful.
Problem is there are so many of them you can’t catch a break.
While discussing a parking situation with one officer I ended up getting a ticket from one of the three others coming down the same block!
WTF!
I work and drive in this city all day, parking makes my job and life difficult.
My job because I spend 20 mins lookint for a spot to park for 5 mins to run in and see a job my workers just performed to ensure my customer is satisfied and end up with a 51$ ticket.
Then that comes out of my pay and upsets me and my wife thus causing me problems there.
I have been to NYC many times and have not encountered their parking authority to be as Philly’s.
They don’t give you a fucking minute. Especially those fuckers in the cars.
Check this out I got 2 tickets in one day! One for no inspection on my brand new Jeep purchased in NJ from a parking authority officer and a parking ticket from a police officer while in my car with the car running!
WTF isn’t that backwards.
And the PPA tried to blame the police for a drop or no increase in ticket revenue.
We wonder why this city is fucked up.
Now with these kiosks they are going to make more money cause you can’t park at a meter spot that had time on it and the free parking at a broken meter.
It’s jsut ridiculous!
It really is!
Now I could also see if the profits from all this parking mayhem went to a good cause like keeping schools, libraries and recreation facilities open for the benefit of the children and residents but it does NO$T
The PPA has some sort reserve fund for what?
The problem is that the ordinary citezen does not have time to pay attention to the laws enacted and the authorities established to enforce them cause they are struggling to live daily life amongst the onslaught all this bullshit tossed at them by the powers that be!
You think I just bought a row home for 50,000G’s in a rundown neighborhood gets a 10 year tax abatement?
No that is reserved for 350000 to 10000000$ plus purchases.
Fuck the poor cater to the rich!
USA is great! Isn’t it!
February 14th, 2010 at 8:17 pm
I WILL NEVER stay over night in philadelphia. I’m from right over the bridge in Nj and cannot convey to you how confusing your parking signs are, how rude the ppa is and how much of a deterent your parking situation is to visitors.
Look at it this way; if I want to get dinner in philly I have to pay 5 bucks for the bridge 15-25 dollars for parking (more for valet) parking a block or more away. Visiting tourist attractions are an even bigger hassle.
People don’t neccessarily mind taking responsibility for mistakes, but your ppa is seen as predatory.
Philly, you are kicking yourself in the foot. Gather up the political will and revamp that corrupt system. It is so obvious.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:38 am
FYI - we have new videos on http://www.visitphilly.com/parking that help residents and visitors navigate parking here in Philadelphia.
February 16th, 2010 at 11:39 am
Also - lots of SEPTA and parking deals in Philadelphia this past weekend, this week, and this upcoming weekend: http://www.visitphilly.com/articles/philadelphia/spread-the-love-winter-promotion
Just make sure to still follow the rules - they are in place to enhance traffic flow to sustain local businesses.
February 16th, 2010 at 3:12 pm
@Caroline…The PPA has the exact opposite effect of sustaining local business. I will no longer come into Philadelphia because even if I try to follow the rules, I still get nailed for something. The parking fines for making honest mistakes are prohibitory (higher than Manhattan). Half the drivers in Philadelphia are driving without insurance and to drive into Philly is asking for trouble. It is too bad that Philadelphia insists on biting the hand that feeds it. It is telling when the snow sits in giant mounds on CENTER CITY streets, making it tough to park, yet the PPA is still out in force foaming at the mouth.
February 20th, 2010 at 3:37 pm
Just make sure to still follow the rules - they are in place to enhance traffic flow to sustain local businesses.
Thnkx
Oyunlar
February 25th, 2010 at 10:58 am
How does having 2 hour parking meters surrounding restaurants around 2nd and market equate to enhancing traffic flow. So you go to a restaurant that most people will spend 3 or 4 hours at! It takes 2.5 hours to eat alone then you walk out remembering that the city placed a 2 hour parking meter (on a tuesday night …) within a decent distance of said area. The city itself sets up these idiotic instances to trap people into paying the PPA money. I spent 450 dollars in food and drinks that night and now have a 80 some dollar ticket as I refuse to pay it. I will never come into the city again to eat as the suburbs provide the same quality with much lower risk. Its bad enough I have to work in this hell hole.
March 2nd, 2010 at 1:25 pm
This city is a joke anymore my whole neighborhood near 16th and porter is a mess of everyone getting tickets no matter were they park its like our nieghborhood is targeted! The ppa is currupt and its driving tons of good people out of this city and thats whats making crime rates and stuff go up! I just got a ticket today for parking in a normal spot right at 16th and porter! It says the reason for the ticket is school days but yet there is no school today at st monicas! ITs unreal and i cant wait to move to jersey!
March 11th, 2010 at 9:38 am
I’m a Delaware resident and as a stay home mom of four boys I don’t have reason to visit Philly very often. I visited the city 12/28/09 to take my sister, a NC resident, to a comedy show. We parked on a side street, ecstatic to find a nice corner spot to pull my big SUV into. It was after dark but my headlights illuminated the sign enough to show the parking times, so we thought we were in the clear. When we got back to my vehicle and saw the little white envelope under my windshield wiper I took a closer look at the sign and realized that way at the bottom was a credit card sized handicap emblem! It was concealed by the height of my vehicle and the darkness. I looked around and every vehicle on that street had the same white envelope under their wiperblade and they were all parked in front of the same kind of sign I was. I vowed then and there to never return to the city that hates tourists! Oh and the fine, which I’m currently fighting, was for $321!
March 11th, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Starla - I’m sorry you had an unfortunate experience but please know the city of Philadelphia does not hate tourists! We here at the tourism office do what we can to make the city easily accessible for tourists - whether that means free hotel parking with our hotel packages, or providing information about parking and parking deals on our web site: http://www.visitphilly.com/parking and http://www.visitphilly.com/parkingdeals. Again, I’m sorry you had a difficult time, but overall, the city does love visitors.
March 13th, 2010 at 9:38 am
Caroline, you’re in denial.
March 14th, 2010 at 4:18 pm
where does the money that A&E pays for this show go to??
Do the tax payers benifit in some way?
Or does the PPA execs benifit?
March 15th, 2010 at 12:10 am
@ Caroline. There are thousands of stories like this online about your city. I have been to Philly once and I came by bus, from NYC. I can honestly say that I will never drive into Philly after reading and seeing all of this. The bad publicity your city takes because of the PPA is unreal. You read about all this and not even the residents want to be there.
March 15th, 2010 at 2:55 am
Have cancelled plans for trip to Philly. The founding Fathers who spent their days in your city would roll in their graves if they could see the tyranical abuse of power tha PPA demonstrates. Out of state tourists, like myself, would be wise to cut a wide path around this scam. BTW, is the PPA impound lot ADA compliant? Doesn’t appear to be on TV..no RR’s or seating for disabled. Have a nice day Philly.
March 16th, 2010 at 8:27 pm
I received a $26 parking fine today for parking in front of my apartment in North Philly. While I admit I was in the wrong (overstayed my welcome in a two-hour zone w/no permit), my other option is parking my car in the lot across the street, where I run the risk of having my window smashed in and my car looted (not an uncommon activity in my neck of the woods).
Philly is a great town, but the more I read about the PPA while losing my mind trying to get around in traffic here, the happier I am that I’m leaving in 2 weeks.
March 17th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Last year I received a ticket for parking alongside a school with signs that read “No Parking School Days 7AM-4PM”.
I parked the car at 10PM and left it until the next morning when I found the ticket.
The ticket was issued for parking during school hours. It was July 24th.
Before parking there again, I was told, I should enter the school, find the principal and ask if summer school is in session!?!?!?!?!???
No wonder these people are city employees. Who else would hire them?
April 9th, 2010 at 2:25 pm
I happen to park on 11th and chestnut and paid $2 dollars for 1 hour to open my store. I knew I had an hour and I watched as the PPA walked from car to car writing down everyone license plates. Once my store was open, I waited for my Operations director to come from the next Corporate offices the next block over as we have parking passes for a garage. Just so you know, I didn’t have the pass because I don’t open the stores in center city so the director of operations had to bring one to me. She arrived 3 minutes later and I walked to my car and seen the ticket for being 3 minutes late. My parking slip said expired 1:05pm, I was given a ticket at 1:08pm. My car was only 4 car lenghts from the front door of the my store. Cost of ticket, $40 for being 3 minutes late. Total cost to park, $42 dollars for one hour.
By the way, after he wrote my ticket, the ticket officer disappeared and was not seen again. I sat and watch a car park right in front of my store and mind you, its a 2 hour zone, so far, the car has not moved yet and it has yet to be ticketed.
May 10th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
As a Canadian visiting Philadelphia for the first and last time, I will relate my adventure in your fair city. My wife and I arrived on Sat May9 for a weekend visit. Our overall impression of the city was great, we did some shopping and some sight seeing, then we made the mistake of parking in old town. I check the parking sign and ensured our car was in a legal spot. We paid for 1 1/2 hours at the parking kiosk and put the ticket in the front window. We then walked over to see some of the sights. 45 mins later we returned to no car. A $13.00 cab ride to the impound yard and $201.00 later we had our car back with damage. While waiting 45 mins for the car to be processed, I watch 3 other out of state cars arrive at the impound yard. After looking at the ticket we went back a checked the spot we had parked in. It was a legal spot and not a press shop as listed on the ticket. But I see how this works, An out of state visitor is less likely to fight the ticket. They will pay the towing and fine and leave the city. The sad part about this is we would have spent over $500.00 on a hotel and meals, but after paying the fines, we crossed the bridge in to New Jersey and headed to New York.
I don’t have an issue with with paying a fine or ticket if I am in the wrong. But I have a huge issue with be screwed. And we were screwed!!! Thank you PPA you are the best.
May 18th, 2010 at 3:31 am
PA is a huge scam. They might as well rob you pointblank with a gun. I’ve been ticketed, even when I had a pay stub on my curb side dashboard that wasn’t even expired for 2hrs. I called them and told me to file a friggin appeal which could take days. Luckily the guy told me I can send my ticket stub which I got reimbursed for 2weeks later. Waste of time and energy.
Another time they towed my car within 10mins of me moving the car at 6am. Supposedly It’s okay to park there free of charge til 8am, but in fine print in like 1pt font, states that no care can park from 6-7am but u can park there all day otherwise. Long story short, $200 fee THAT doesn’t include your ticket for something anyone could have overlooked easily. I agree PPA is pathetic and steals money even if they could from a little baby. Corrupt system, funny thing is… you can tell that it doesn’t go towards the city it goes right into their pockets. pfffft. The $2.50 online fee ugh.
Also try putting in $5 into the pay machine and press cancel. It won’t refund it to you but instead print out the ticket. Even at 9pm, it’ll max out the time til 11pm…even after its free after 10pm. GG
May 24th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Me and my boyfriend recently went to the city to go to a museum and out to eat. It was the first weekend we had in a long time without children. Went to the museum took 30 mins to find parking. After that went to front st/south st area to walk around and find a place to eat. (this was right after the south st mob incident)but we still went out to make the most of it. Again it was only about 5 or 6 pm on saturday and we couldn’t find parking. We drove all over , all the streets have different parking signs. Some you can between certain hours or only on certain days or holidays , some had meters that you put money in or numbered slots. I found a place to park but apparently read the sign wrong. I was only to park there for 30 minutes but after 9 pm was anytime. My ticket $50 bucks!!! They want people to visit but dont have reasonable adequate parking. My day in the city was the pitts!!! I can tell you I wont be back any time soon! Philly sucks!!
July 5th, 2010 at 2:56 am
I moved from NY to Philadelphia because I thought it was a decent city. After being here for a year and being constantly harassed by the PPA I cannot wait to leave.
I received a side walk ticket for parking 1 foot away from the sidewalk on my own property in front of my house. My elderly neighbor who was on her cement slab well over a foot from the side walk was also tickets as was the other neighbor. The PPA was too lazy to even bother putting the house address on the ticket.
Every time I go into center city I just pay $20 to park because no matter how careful I am a ticket shows up. Doesn’t matter, they ticket anything. Fighting it is a pain also. Out of all the cities I have been in the states as well as outside, Philadelphia is the most unwelcoming to others.
Congrats Philly. You lost another well educated, young professional. No money of mine will be spent in the city and my tax money will go somewhere else that is more welcoming. I hope the couple hundred dollars the PPA stole from me offsets the tax revenue and rent money I would of generated.
@ Caroline - You can paint a pretty picture all you want, but the PPA as well as other elements of this city are enough of a turn off for me and my family. None of us will ever spend a dime here. I hope A&E’s show keeps running so the rest of the country can see how Philadelphia treats people.
July 8th, 2010 at 7:05 am
All of these posts remind me of a campaign committment made by Frank L. Rizzo when he was running in 87 or 91.
When I elected I’m going to break all of their pencils and give them all brooms.
Still sounds appropriate today, even more so know that they have double their staf
July 8th, 2010 at 9:55 am
The PPA is a f’ing joke. Why? I just got a ticket last Friday for “Blocking HP Ramp” (Other 12-913(1)(a)(x) for $76. So I am looking around the car wondering what the hell an HP ramp is? It turns out it is the little dip at the end of every street where bikes can roll off. Unfortunately this city is so dirty and trashy that when I parked, unless I literally stuck my head out of the passenger side window I couldn’t see it. Dirt, trash, and weeds literally covered this dip. Not to mention there was no crosswalk painting or any other indicator that a dip might be there. Finally, the dip was not even at the end of the street, it was at least 6 feet forward of the end. My question… how can they ticket someone for things that are not taught in driving school. And if laws are changed aren’t they supposed provide documentation to the citizens on what is considered illegal parking?
I have never seen the show but man have I had it up to here with the PPA and the city of Philadelphia. I just bought a house outside of Atlanta and I am just waiting to see how I will make my transition because I am going to say bye-bye to Philthadelphia and their sorry scumbag tactics and politicians (i.e. trying to charge for trash pickup, beverage taxes, etc., etc.). In addition, I will continue to recommend to others… do not waste your time to come to boring Philthadelphia.
July 17th, 2010 at 9:27 pm
We are out of town visitors from VA and believe we drove responsibly and carefully through Philadelphia paying attention to all safety concerns.
We received a red-light violation from PPA in the mail.
We noticed that the vehicles at the intersection opposite in the picture had not moved. That
indicates that the light had not changed. We believe we made the correct decision. I.e. We did not slam on our brakes possibly causing an accident with potential motorists behind us.
Bad for city. Philadelphia will not be receiving a visit from us or our tourism dollars in the future.
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:29 am
The funny thing is, Philadelphia is losing Revenue because of the tickets. Businesses are shutting down. Retail can’t survive near $4 per hour meters. If a visitor is 30 seconds late to the meter, and the meter maid says “gotcha.”… you don’t come back. Couple it with the visitor’s experience fighting with a machine for 10 minutes only to end up with a $100 ticket anyway, These visitors NEVER come back.
The problem with Philadelphia is that the leadership has little to no education. These city workers are from the Philly school system, with no actual professional or business training. They should not be making any financial decisions. They should ask the Governor’s office for advice on all financial issues. And they got totally scammed by the meter machine manufacturer.
Then you have the police writing false moving violations… this one will be out soon with some jail time. The cop cannot say “they told me to.”
Were also back to holding our conventions in AC.
August 4th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
I have lived in downtown Philadelphia for 12 years and am a Political Science Phd Candidate at Penn. The Philadelphia Parking Authority is a corrupt machine, chaired by Joe Ashdale, with no opportunity to contest their citations since less than 1% of cases are overturned due to their own errors according to an interview I obtained with the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
Our car was parked in a metered spot, during the times posted, and paid for in full with an unexpired parking ticket shown on the curbside window. We returned to our metered spot & thought our car was stolen! Come to find out the PPA decided to tow our car illegally when they created a false reason on the citation. We actually have photographic proof that they lied about the reason and have the paid parking meter ticket that expired 45 minutes AFTER the citation was written. Not to mention, when we talked to the tow truck driver from the ppa who towed our car - he said he did not know why the car was towed since it was in a metered spot. In other words, the PPA employee towing our car told us he didn’t know why the car would be towed especially since he was looking at another car in that EXACT same spot while we spoke.
Yet, after talking to many PPA employees and other contacts in city government, we learned that the PPA will not be held liable in court cases. Less than 1% of cases go overturned. The wonderful cop who assisted us said PPA writes tickets without cause all the time and in fact he had a ticket “without cause” himself! Even with our photographic evidence, we do not want to waste a day in court knowing that the PPA will win. It was cheaper to pay the $226!
Countless Ivy league peers have decided to leave Philadelphia upon receiving their graduate degrees due to the high taxes (city wage tax, philadelphia business privilege tax, school income tax in addition to Federal taxes , state taxes, and property taxes) as well as this parking authority corruption. We discuss how the city of Philadelphia truly wants to turn away residents and visitors through poor policy decisions such as these.
If the Philadelphia Tourism Board really wants to promote this “city of brotherly love”, then they should start to show brotherly love to residents and non-residents alike. Instead, Philadelphia Parking Authority Chairman Joe Ashdale chooses to promote patronage and corruption rather than utilizing his post to serve the citizens of Philadelphia and beyond.
Welcome to our City, or should I say my former city - since like my ivy league graduate student peers who fully intended to stay here after graduation and have since changed course, I anticipate calling this my former home someday.
August 11th, 2010 at 12:23 pm
it’s not about the show - the PPA just needs to stop being so awful and abusive. i had a situation where they put up temporary no parking signs either very late one night or early the next morning and by the time i walked out to go to work at 9am, i already had a ticket for my car being there, even though there was no sign when i went to bed. my ticket didn’t even say what time it was issued, and when i went in to contest it (with a copy of the ticket), i learned that the PPA official had put in NOON as the time the ticket was issued (I had moved my car after receiving the ticket, well before noon).
August 11th, 2010 at 12:31 pm
I did once see a PPA employee try to find an illegally parked car’s owner. I was shocked!
August 11th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Firstly, Caroline…give it up. Promoting free parking isn’t addressing the issues. Secondly, I’ve worked and went to school in Center City/South Philly for the better portion of my life. There is a fair amount of free parking, you have to LOOK for it. I’ve almost never had to pay to park, granted I may have to walk 3 blocks to my destination, its better than a ticket/tow/or feeding money into the PPA. Furthermore, there are ALWAYS signs, you must read them. For people to not know that you couldn’t park there is absurd. I don’t agree with the PPA, they are a money hungry, ruthless organization….but claiming ignorance isn’t acceptable either. Read the signs, pay the meter, or find a free place to park. Also, Parking Wars is a “reality televison show” which means they only show you the most escalated and ridiculous situations, it does not at all reflect REALITY. Think of it as MTV’s The Real World.
August 19th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
I appreciate that there are several stories on this blog which are similar to the one I just experienced 6 days ago. As a visitor in Old City, I parked my car with my hotel and paid about $56 in order to avoid dealing with the PPA. Three short hours after checking out of my hotel, getting our car back, enjoying a nice lunch (aka spending $$ in your fair city), and marveling to my huband about what a wonderful city Philly was, I found us standing at the impound lot trying to recover our vehicle which had been towed from 3rd and Chestnut. I echo the sentiment of thinking that our car had been stolen. Then we found a parking enforcement officer who told us our car had been towed because it was in a tow-away zone.
I realize NOW that the tow-away zone is NOT the x-ed off area at the end of the metered parking, as I previously understood the sign to say. There is actually a space in front of that which is also a tow zone. My husband and I paid the meter, checked that we were inside the white lines and left our car. $226 mistake. And then, by the way, what is the big fat “X” painted on the street for anyway? If there are TWO tow-away zones in one small area (for different reasons I’m guessing), why the hell wouldn’t you just paint the whole damn thing as the tow away zone. Clear and understandable signage for us out-of-towners, PLEASE!
So your fire hydrants are flush with the ground? Didn’t know - I’ve only ever seen the ones on the sidewalk. But guess what? We didn’t park over that either (we were really trying to be good tourists), but according to the PPA website we must have been within 15 feet of that. Sadly as was the car parked where our car should have been, but we were politely told that car was okay by the nice PPA officer. Huh. Weird.
I will not be returning to Philly as I think it is ridiculous that I should have to take a training session to be able to navigate the poorly engineered signage. I’m from the Chicago land area and have manged for my entire adult-life to not get ticketed or towed anywhere else there or anywhere else in the country. Seems to me its the PPA and not me. I’m sorry for the Philly business owners and the folks like Caroline who appear to try to offset the malicous behavior of the PPA. It’s not you, it’s them, but unfortunatley for you, you will get no more of my money or potentially the money of the people that I tell my story to.
Part of traveling shouldn’t have to be the anxiety of wondering whether or not you will have a car to travel home in at the end of your trip.