Tag: Philadelphia Parking Authority

bookmark_borderPope In Philly

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PHILADELPHIA — As Philadelphia and the region continue to prepare for the Papal Visit and the attendance of an estimated 1.5 million pilgrims during the World Meeting of Families, we want to provide the public with as much information about what they can expect during this incredible, once-in-lifetime event.

Philadelphia is the “Can Do” City and we can do and will do everything in our power, along with our many partners, to ensure a safe and secure event, a spiritual and joyful event.

It will also be one of those rare opportunities for Philadelphia to showcase on a global stage what we’ve been doing for quite some time – managing very large events or situations.

And this World Meeting of Families could well be the largest ever. In Manila in 2003, Valencia, Spain in 2006 and in Milan in 2012, the closing Mass attendance was estimated at 1 million participants. The current general estimate for Philadelphia is a one million to one-and-one-half million people or more

We believe Pope Francis and his message will encourage many more people to come to Philadelphia. We are all very excited about the prospect of so many women, men and children of faith coming to the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection.

At the same time, I understand there are many concerns. What will happen? How will it impact me, my family, my business, my employer? I get it. We get it. Yes, our daily routines will be disrupted, sometimes in minor ways, sometimes in significant ways.

But just as soon as we have even more concrete details to announce, we will do so. And that will give everyone enough time to take the appropriate actions, make prudent plans and prepare for an event like no other in this City’s history. This is an incredible moment in time for all of us.

Let me note that as we prepare for this historic event, we are working and coordinating with a significant number of partners, including:

United States Secret Service, Philadelphia Police, Philadelphia Fire, Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, PennDOT, Philadelphia Parking Authority, Delaware River Port Authoriy/PATCO, NJTransit, Department of Homeland Security, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania National Guard, Pennsylvania State Police, and our regional suburban partners in Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties.

For today, we will provide details regarding vehicle traffic in and around Center City, as well as updates from SEPTA and DRPA on their services.

Our partners from the State will also highlight how they are working with us to ensure that the World Meeting of Families and Papal Visit run as smoothly as possible.

* We are working very closely with the Governor Wolf and the State as we move into the final weeks before the Pope’s arrival, and we know that all of our State agencies will be a huge asset during this major event.

* PennDOT, Pennsylvania State Police and the PA National Guard will play major roles when it comes to traffic, transportation and public safety.

In short, there are many people and agencies working in concert to create the best, most thoughtfully executed plan for our City during the World Meeting of Families. All of the agencies here today will continue to release more detailed plans about their services as we get closer to the event.

The World Meeting of Families Congress will take place Tuesday, September 22nd through Friday, September 25th. The Papal Visit will take place that weekend, Saturday, September 26th & Sunday, September 27th.

Think of it: 1.5 million visitors in addition to our 1.5 million residents who have to move around the city in their daily lives.

bookmark_borderAggressive Towing In Philadelphia

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PHILADELPHIA – February 24, 2014 (Reprint of WPVI story featuring our PhilaNet.com reporter) — We’ve heard horror stories of people’s cars being moved into illegal spots by tow truck drivers, vehicles held ransom for hundreds of dollars, and major damage done in the towing process.

In the city where the reality show ‘Parking Wars’ was made famous, we’re exposing the unwritten rules for parking in Philadelphia. Here’s what you should know before you snag what you think is that perfect parking spot.

“They (George Smith Towing) started towing it down the street. There were sparks flying, it was a crazy loud racket,” said Daniel Brouse.

Brouse is a freelance photographer who has been tracking one of the city’s top tow companies on candid camera.

“When I started filming them, they threatened my life,” said Brouse.

His go-to spot was behind the Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties.

“I thought he was a car thief the way he was breaking into the car,” said Brouse. “And then I saw him hook up a tow truck to the vehicle.”

Theft is exactly how Philadelphia Councilman Jim Kenney describes towing in the city.

“They should be arrested because they’re stealing the car. There’s no difference between a tow truck operator taking a car from the curb illegally and a guy hot-wiring it and stealing it,” Kenney said.

The history of aggressive and illegal towing is notorious in the City of Brotherly Love.

“Clearly there are no city signs that say that you cannot park here,” said Jadi Gonzalez.

Surveillance video shows within 14 minutes of Gonzalez parking her car on a city street, a private tow truck driver picks it up – and, she says, doing thousands of dollars of damage to the vehicle.

“They said, ‘You have pictures, you have surveillance. So just take us to court,'” Gonzalez said. And then, she said, they “hung up on me.”

“I mean, it’s really hazardous to park here even legally,” said Mike Williams.

Williams says his car was not just illegally towed, he says it was moved from his permitted spot in Center City Philadelphia.

“Basically they just lied about where we were parked, since we were in a convenient spot for towing. They just decided to tow us,” said Williams.

Action News obtained a list from the Philadelphia Parking Authority of the places where the most tickets are issued for towable offenses.

We’ve created this interactive map, to alert drivers about the hot spots for aggressive towing in the city.

Third on the list is the 1600 block of Market Street, where nearly 3,000 tickets were written for towable offenses in the last 14 months.

The corner of 13th and Walnut Street comes in second on our list for towing violations.

The top spot in the city is the 100 block of Chestnut Street in Old City, where nearly 5,500 towing tickets have been issued since January 2013.

While the majority of these tows may be legal, Councilman Kenney describes the entire towing system in Philadelphia as “the wild West. There’s an industry out there that thinks they have the ability to take advantage of people and steal their cars and hold them hostage for a ransom to get them back,” said Kenney.

The councilman says there are some important things drivers should know:

Only the Philadelphia Parking Authority can tow from a city street. The only place private companies can tow from is private property.

Your car DOES NOT have to be ticketed to be towed.

Towing companies can only charge you $175 for the tow, and $25 for each 24 hours of storage. It is illegal for them to charge any fees on top of that.

A private towing company has to take a picture of your car before they tow it, and provide a copy at no charge

“Unless the government is protecting them in some way by locking up the guys who stole their car, or by shutting the business that stole their car, nothing’s going to change,” Kenney said.

The biggest problem is there is really little recourse for drivers. Councilman Kenney says no one, not the police or L&I which regulates towing, is cracking down on illegal towing in Philadelphia. He is trying to change that.

Councilman Kenney says for now all a driver can do if his or her car is missing is call 9-1-1 and report the vehicle as stolen – or sue the towing company.