Snowdown Time

It's snowing in Philly y'all! Know what that means? Parking throwdown! Parking in certain neighborhoods is insane! Almost 3rd world. I live in the Art Museum Area and parking is ridiculous. After 5:30 at night? Good luck my friend. Dinner parties at Casa Reitano always contain some conversation of how sorry they were late, but they drove around for 30 minutes and managed to find a space 7 blocks away. Good times.

So back to the snow. You throw snow in and parking is extra special. A Snowdown! The most special part of Philly for parking is South Philly. South Philly is home of some incredible things. It has the Italian Market, the sports arenas, great restaurants, a high concentration of hipsters, young families and families that have lived there for generations. Has anyone seen the show Parking Wars? It is based in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Parking Authority is probably the most hated group in Philadelphia. The meter maids are horrific. In fact, the state pays more disability to PPA employees in Philadelphia than it does for all the police officers and fire fighters in the entire STATE! If that does not illustrate what we deal with here, nothing does. If you own a business and try to get a delivery when you are located on a small colonial street, your vendors hate you. They struggle to park, run in your order and BAM! Surprise! A ticket waiting for them. Most drivers have to pay their own tickets. We try to stand outside and guard their truck for them. You can park legally somewhere and as you are running back to your car with, according to your watch or phone, one minute to spare on the meter, and there is the monster, writing your ticket and placing it on your windshield. I could go on and on and tell story after story.

Curious enough, the PPA does not apply their talents to South Philly. In South Philly, they double park, park down the center of Broad Street, park on the sidewalks and reserve their parking spot with pieces of garbage, pails, chairs, laundry baskets, you name it. I am always tempted to move them as I walk past. It is infuriating. Why are they PPAfree? No tickets on any windshields. Why? NOT FAIR! What is their secret and will they please share? Do they sprinkle some sort of repellent, similar to tiger urine or copper flashing?

Sarah sent this first thing this morning. She is brilliant and funny enough, lives in South Philadelphia, so this hits home.

Enjoy!