April 20, 2017
Matt Rourke/AP
A member of the Philadelphia Parking Authority writes a ticket for an expired meter in Center City.
Have problems finding a parking spot in Philadelphia? City Council members will soon want to hear from you.
On Thursday, City Council President Darrell Clarke and Councilman Mark Squilla submitted a resolution to address the ongoing parking issues in the city. The measure calls for the Committee on Streets and Services to hold public hearings to address the problem.
Acknowledging the seemingly endless complaints from city residents and visitors, the lawmakers point to a variety of factors contributing to the parking crunch, including zoning code changes, car sharing programs, electric vehicle spots and law enforcement.
For example, the electric vehicle initiative was lifted last month over concern that the law created private parking spaces for individuals and stripped neighbors of a place to park.
"These programs, and others like them, must be critically analyzed to ensure that they are operating in the most efficient manner for the benefit of all residents and the City of Philadelphia as a whole," the resolution reads.
The plan comes on the heels of Philadelphia Parking Authority's abrupt suspension of its mobile payment app. The service allowed users to digitally pay for metered parking.
Protecting legal parking has been a recent focus for Council. Last year, a law was enacted to crack down on predatory towing operators.
Still, more solutions are needed.
“We need to fix the parking situation. Some of these neighborhoods are getting to the point where they’re not manageable,” said Clarke, according to CBS3.
A hearing schedule to hear all issues related to parking in Philly has not been determined.
