Dept. of Minor Miracles: Nobody Is Parked on the Broad Street Median Today

Look Ma, no cars in the median! | Photos: Holly Otterbein

This morning, South Philly residents awoke to see something most of them had never seen in their lifetimes: South Broad Street completely free of parked cars in its median.

That was the first miracle. The second was this: the Philadelphia Parking Authority only had to tow away a handful of them. 

The PPA had announced that as part of the arrangements to ensure pedestrian and traffic safety for the Democratic National Convention, it would begin enforcing a ban on parking in the median of South Broad Street at 8 a.m. on Sunday, July 24th.

PPA spokesperson Marty O’Rourke said that 95 percent of all the cars parked on the South Broad Street median had been moved by the time the authority sent the tow trucks out that day. As a result, only 23 cars were ticketed and towed to the PPA’s impoundment lot.

O’Rourke attributed the 95 percent compliance rate to a highly intensive advance notice campaign. “The area [around South Broad] was leafleted a number of times, we made a series of robocalls, and there was plenty of advance notice on the TV stations,” he said.

This car was one of the 23 the PPA had to forcibly remove from the South Broad Street median. The owners of 95 percent of the cars parked there went peaceably.

While the PPA will not require those 23 motorists who slept through the publicity to pay towing fees, they will have to present proof of ownership to retrieve their cars from the impoundment lot at 2535 S. Swanson St. and pay a $51 fine for the parking violation.

The ban will continue in effect through 8 p.m. Friday, July 29th. O’Rourke said he did not know whether the ban would be made permanent and South Broad Street brought in line with the rest of the thoroughfare.

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