Philadelphia Parking Authoring - worst quasi-government agency ever

[akugami]

Just got my letter to renew my street parking permit from the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA). These are street parking permits.

It's $35 for one car, $50 for the second, $70 for the third, and and $100 each for 4+ cars. So if I had 2 cars, it'd be $85 just so I can park on the street in front of my house without getting a ticket. And $400 if you had 4+ cars...utterly ridiculous.

And I've gotten a ticket from them for parking in front of my own damn driveway, which is illegal, even though I had a parking permit. It's all a damn money grab by these assholes.


So here's an open letter to the PPA.

Dear PPA,

Fuck You.

Sincerely yours, A.H.

 

[xanis]

Try to find an apartment with a garage or lot that lets you park two cars for $85/month. Almost every complex I looked at that had parking (and wasn't in a shit area) was AT LEAST $100/month PER CAR, easy.

And I've gotten a ticket from them for parking in front of my own damn driveway, which is illegal, even though I had a parking permit. It's all a damn money grab by these assholes.

Justification for complaint not found.

 

[CPA]

ahhh, big city livin'.

 

[BoomerD]

http://www.aetv.com/parking-wars/video

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parking_Wars

The series' original focus was on the employees of the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) and their daily work: ticketing, booting (via wheel clamp), and towing cars, and dealing with the issues that arise with the public when they try to retrieve their vehicles from the impound lots. The show also includes footage of vehicle owners interacting with employees on the street when their vehicles are ticketed, booted, or towed.

 

[Newbian]

And I've gotten a ticket from them for parking in front of my own damn driveway, which is illegal, even though I had a parking permit. It's all a damn money grab by these assholes.

And that's why you got the ticket.

They do not know it's your driveway plus you are blocking access for disabled people and that's never allowed in most cities.

 

[OutHouse]

I was in Philly last week for the first time. It cost the company $25 per night for me to park the rental car at the hotel. I thought it was amusing to see lawn chairs in the street marking somebody's spot.

FYI Ralph's was delicious.

 

[norseamd]

I was in Philly last week for the first time. It cost the company $25 per night for me to park the rental car at the hotel. I thought it was amusing to see lawn chairs in the street marking somebody's spot. FYI Ralph's was delicious.

did they have some sort of parking lot?

 

[OutHouse]

did they have some sort of parking lot?

Yes a block from the hotel.

 

[akugami]

Try to find an apartment with a garage or lot that lets you park two cars for $85/month. Almost every complex I looked at that had parking (and wasn't in a shit area) was AT LEAST $100/month PER CAR, easy.



Justification for complaint not found.

You don't find it ridiculous to pay money so you can park in front of your own house AND still get a ticket for parking in front of your own driveway? Yeah, it's illegal but it's still a friggin money grab. That's the complaint.

And that's why you got the ticket.

They do not know it's your driveway plus you are blocking access for disabled people and that's never allowed in most cities.

Yep, but you figure you can just send proof of address to remove the charges, but they don't care. Also, the parking permits are by zones so they kinda know if you're in your own neighborhood or not. The PPA is just one shady organization.

 

[waggy]

Try to find an apartment with a garage or lot that lets you park two cars for $85/month. Almost every complex I looked at that had parking (and wasn't in a shit area) was AT LEAST $100/month PER CAR, easy.



Justification for complaint not found.

whaa? you rent an apartment with a lot and you pay an additional $85 for parking? lol

 

[xanis]

whaa? you rent an apartment with a lot and you pay an additional $85 for parking? lol

Example: http://www.parktowneapthomes.com/apartments/parkingpolicies.do?lid=en_US&pid=1641. FYI, the cheapest apartment there is a studio for ~$1100/month.

Lot = $50 first car, $180 second car
Garage = $180/car

 

[PokerGuy]

Reason #172,945,637,624 not to live in a big city. So glad I don't.

 

[TwiceOver]

Seems reasonable to me. Don't know what you're complaining about.

 

[el-Capitan]

If it's anything like they have in London, I'd very much welcome these permits.

They are bound by neighborhood. If you ain't from the hood you gotta pay to park! Noone in my neighborhood in Manhattan has a car so I am always competing with the bridge and tunnel crowd who come in to shop and eat. If these permits would deter only 10% of them, that'd be a blessing!

 

[waggy]

Example: http://www.parktowneapthomes.com/apartments/parkingpolicies.do?lid=en_US&pid=1641. FYI, the cheapest apartment there is a studio for ~$1100/month.

Lot = $50 first car, $180 second car
Garage = $180/car

wow!

 

[Blackjack200]

Just got my letter to renew my street parking permit from the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA). These are street parking permits.

It's $35 for one car, $50 for the second, $70 for the third, and and $100 each for 4+ cars. So if I had 2 cars, it'd be $85 just so I can park on the street in front of my house without getting a ticket. And $400 if you had 4+ cars...utterly ridiculous.

And I've gotten a ticket from them for parking in front of my own damn driveway, which is illegal, even though I had a parking permit. It's all a damn money grab by these assholes.


So here's an open letter to the PPA.

Dear PPA,

Fuck You.

Sincerely yours, A.H.

$85/year is seven bucks a month. As someone who used to drive into the city for various reasons, being a resident and being able to park anywhere in the zone for unlimited time is a great deal.

Honestly, they should charge more. Parking is scarce in Philly, and too many idiots have cars parked at the curb that never move, clogging things up for everyone else.

If it's anything like they have in London, I'd very much welcome these permits.

They are bound by neighborhood. If you ain't from the hood you gotta pay to park! Noone in my neighborhood in Manhattan has a car so I am always competing with the bridge and tunnel crowd who come in to shop and eat. If these permits would deter only 10% of them, that'd be a blessing!

They don't really deter anyone, mostly they're free spots that are limited to 2-3 hours on weekdays without a permint. Even if it's metered parking, the $4 you pay for two hours of parking is much cheaper than a lot or garage would charge.

 

[nageov3t]

And that's why you got the ticket.

They do not know it's your driveway plus you are blocking access for disabled people and that's never allowed in most cities.

if that was the case (and not just a money grab), why wouldn't they tow the car for blocking access?

in most places, it seems to be the unspoken law of the land that cops won't ticket/tow cars parked in front of driveways unless the owner of the driveway calls to complain. having people park in front of their own drivers makes street parking a little better for everyone else.

 

[akugami]

Just a note, the parking laws are not really enforced by cops. They understand parking is scarce and try to give residents a little leeway. I live 3 blocks from a police station. It's the damn PPA enforcement agents. Even cops that I've talk to don't like the PPA.

 

[Blackjack200]

if that was the case (and not just a money grab), why wouldn't they tow the car for blocking access?

in most places, it seems to be the unspoken law of the land that cops won't ticket/tow cars parked in front of driveways unless the owner of the driveway calls to complain. having people park in front of their own drivers makes street parking a little better for everyone else.

It is a money grab. As an aside, I'm not sure where the OP is, but driveways/garages in Philly are not all that common anyway.

Just a note, the parking laws are not really enforced by cops. They understand parking is scarce and try to give residents a little leeway. I live 3 blocks from a police station. It's the damn PPA enforcement agents. Even cops that I've talk to don't like the PPA.

Not trying to defend the PPA here, I have my own PPA horror story - my brother drove my car into Philly once with an expired registration. He got ticketed for it, took the ticket off the windshield, parked somewhere else, and got another ticket for the same thing. I called PPA to resolve assuming that they would just cancel one of the tickets but they refused and insisted that parking the car in two different places on the same day with expired registration counted as seperate offenses. Incredible.

Also, I have no idea if this is true, but someone told me that the city doesn't even make money off of the PPA, the agency pretty much absorbs all the ticket revenue through its expenses, and that the only reason it exists is to provide beaurocratic employment.

 

[xanis]

Also, I have no idea if this is true, but someone told me that the city doesn't even make money off of the PPA, the agency pretty much absorbs all the ticket revenue through its expenses, and that the only reason it exists is to provide beurocratic employment.

Not defending the PPA either, but according to their FY12/11 statements, they do give a chunk of the revenue to the city: http://philapark.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/PPA-Fin-Stmts-Final.pdf

Looks like the contribution to the School District was ~$79.4 million for FY12.

 

[Blackjack200]

Interesting; guess I can stop repeating that specious rumor now.