Philly needs more bollards.

[luchobucho]

Im convinced if the city put bollards on narrow streets people would stop parking on sidewalks.

It's criminal!!!!!

[BarryG]

Im convinced if the city put bollards on narrow streets people would stop parking on sidewalks.

It's criminal!!!!!

A lot of South Philly streets have these and they work. Are they put in by residents?

[DCnPhilly]

Im convinced if the city put bollards on narrow streets people would stop parking on sidewalks.

It's criminal!!!!!

OMG, I was just thinking this this afternoon! A few months ago I got a ticket for parking on the side walk in front of MY OWN GARAGE in Center City. This afternoon I was on Oregon Avenue and there were cars parked on the concrete medians and over top of double yellow lines. I know I probably sound like the uncool kid who eats by himself in the high school cafeteria for pointing this out, but it annoys the he11 out of me to see cars parked up and down the middle of Broad Street while I can't "stand" in front of my own garage. Next time I get a parking ticket anywhere I'm taking a picture of any one of these streets to court with me.

[gren]

I agree. I just saw a truck on Girard parked on the new curb bump outs blocking the ADA curb cut and crosswalk while making it harder for cross traffic to see.

OMG, I was just thinking this this afternoon! A few months ago I got a ticket for parking on the side walk in front of MY OWN GARAGE in Center City. This afternoon I was on Oregon Avenue and there were cars parked on the concrete medians and over top of double yellow lines. I know I probably sound like the uncool kid who eats by himself in the high school cafeteria for pointing this out, but it annoys the he11 out of me to see cars parked up and down the middle of Broad Street while I can't "stand" in front of my own garage. Next time I get a parking ticket anywhere I'm taking a picture of any one of these streets to court with me.

Well, the public street in front of your house and the middle of Broad are both equally not your property...

[DCnPhilly]

Well, the public street in front of your house and the middle of Broad are both equally not your property...

I'm not saying I shouldn't have been ticketed. I'm just saying if I can be ticketed for unloading groceries with my hazard lights on while blockin the curb cut to my house's garage, that those parking on concrete medians, on top of yellow lines, and creating dangerous situations by blocking handicap ramps in South Philly should be treated the same way.

[gren]

It is true. I think the city needs a strategy for eliminating the most dangerous forms of illegal parking. That is the ones that block lines of sight at intersections, force pedestrians into the street, and block ADA curb cuts. I think parking in the center of Broad should be phased out but it's only pressing if there are actual improvements to the street scape. I think the PPA is good at ticketing people who overstay time limits but they'll often walk by cars half blocking crosswalks.

I think bollards can solve some of the problems on smaller streets but I think the PPA being tasked with stopping parking on and blocking sidewalks will be the most important part of limiting it.

[ArcticSplash]

Pavement parkers are pretty heavy in the most dense residential neighborhoods.

In the center of Fishtown it's pretty prevalent but then if you hop over a few blocks into Kensington there is almost none of it.


Ugh and median parking on Broad Street... that's been there forever and well; that's a Philly thang. You'll never get rid of that. Everyone knows between Washington and Oregon it's median parking and the only way to eliminate it is not through enforcement, but installing tire punctures to keep folks off of it. At the same time if you got rid of it---where are all those cars gonna go?

People who live in South Philly don't keep just 1 car, many of them got at least 3, plus a ton of relatives in South Jersey who drive over to visit. South Philly lacking parking garages to take the pressure off street parking.

[BarryG]

Pavement parkers are pretty heavy in the most dense residential neighborhoods.

In the center of Fishtown it's pretty prevalent but then if you hop over a few blocks into Kensington there is almost none of it.


Ugh and median parking on Broad Street... that's been there forever and well; that's a Philly thang. You'll never get rid of that. Everyone knows between Washington and Oregon it's median parking and the only way to eliminate it is not through enforcement, but installing tire punctures to keep folks off of it. At the same time if you got rid of it---where are all those cars gonna go?

People who live in South Philly don't keep just 1 car, many of them got at least 3, plus a ton of relatives in South Jersey who drive over to visit. South Philly lacking parking garages to take the pressure off street parking.

Yeah South Philly needs one or two real garage projects. PPA has some surface lots that should be converted to garages with ground level retail. Do that and allow some new construction to go forward without parking.

[Lolly]

Yeah South Philly needs one or two real garage projects. PPA has some surface lots that should be converted to garages with ground level retail.

This.

Such as: http://worldofcolorawards.com/santa-...ooked-building

[DCnPhilly]

Ugh and median parking on Broad Street... that's been there forever and well; that's a Philly thang. You'll never get rid of that. Everyone knows between Washington and Oregon it's median parking and the only way to eliminate it is not through enforcement, but installing tire punctures to keep folks off of it. At the same time if you got rid of it---where are all those cars gonna go?

People who live in South Philly don't keep just 1 car, many of them got at least 3, plus a ton of relatives in South Jersey who drive over to visit. South Philly lacking parking garages to take the pressure off street parking.

Oh, I know. I'm just being a nerd. The entire area wasn't built for cars. And 100 years later everyone's grown accustomed to driving four blocks to the 7-11 and saving their spot with some folding chairs. It's cultural, and that's probably what annoys me most about it. Cars parked down the median, on top of sidewalks, and massive SUVs blocking the line of sight at every singe intersection looks just plain trashy.

If the situation wasn't 50+ years old, people who live within walking distance of buses and subways would do what they do in every other city and take the public transportation that's provided for them. Plenty do, but when you have hundreds of cars parked on top of a subway line and major bus routes it's pretty clear the problem isn't just a lack of parking garages but suburban entitlement that never belonged in an area as dense and old as South Philly.

There are areas in South Philly that could be cleared for parking garages, but would that solve anything? When people save their spaces with chairs, it's clear they already think they have designated parking. The truth of the matter is, if you can't afford parking or don't expect to occasionally drive around to find a spot, you should decide if you really need that third car, and if you do you might want to move somewhere designed for that third car.

The PPA is responsible for enforcing parking in the entire city indiscriminately but they're unofficially exempting entire neighborhoods from various unspecified laws. Where's the line? How can someone block the intersection at 5th and Tasker, but not at 12th and Walnut? How can someone park on the median at Broad and Mifflin but not ten blocks north? If they want to make that designanted parking they need to change the rules, otherwise we're just encouraging scofflaws. Laws aren't intended to be flexible. One could use the precendents the PPA has set for themselves by flagrantly ignoring thousands of parking violations in South Philly and Fishtown, violations that exceed the ones they enforce in other areas, to debase the organization.

[billy ross]

OMG, I was just thinking this this afternoon! A few months ago I got a ticket for parking on the side walk in front of MY OWN GARAGE in Center City. This afternoon I was on Oregon Avenue and there were cars parked on the concrete medians and over top of double yellow lines. I know I probably sound like the uncool kid who eats by himself in the high school cafeteria for pointing this out, but it annoys the he11 out of me to see cars parked up and down the middle of Broad Street while I can't "stand" in front of my own garage. Next time I get a parking ticket anywhere I'm taking a picture of any one of these streets to court with me.

You can't park on the sidewalk. That's the point of this thread.

[ArcticSplash]

I think the more interesting thing to take note is that the designers of the BSL didn't really expect to have cars permanently parked on the median of Broad Street.

Luckily for the car parkers, the trusses that hold up Broad Street are overdesigned to carry that much dead load.

Half to all of Broad Street, depending on where you are, is cut-and-cover from Pattison up to Olney.

[DCnPhilly]

I think the more interesting thing to take note is that the designers of the BSL didn't really expect to have cars permanently parked on the median of Broad Street.

Luckily for the car parkers, the trusses that hold up Broad Street are overdesigned to carry that much dead load.

Half to all of Broad Street, depending on where you are, is cut-and-cover from Pattison up to Olney.

I didn't even think about that. If you're standing outside the Inquirer Building and a large truck goes by, the ground feels like it's going to collapse below you. I know that probably has more to do with the old freight rails below the street than the subway, but it's a Dateline story waiting to happen.

[luchobucho]

A lot of South Philly streets have these and they work. Are they put in by residents?

Many streets have them, but they're haphazard and inconsistent. I am not sure if a resident can put them in or not, or if they have to go to the streets department for approval. Anyone know?

Also, is there a particular type, or method of installation thats required? The city shold keep a standard detail for that kind of thing for people to supply a contractor. I'm also surprised certain districts don't have special/unique/decorative bollards. As close as the houses are to the street in my neighborhood, I am sometimes worried that a car could jump the curb and do serious damage to the front faccade of my house.

[luchobucho]

THIS!!!!

I mean, you could put in garages, but it would just induce further car ownership. South Philly is crazy dense people should either accept that (and not break the law), or just look for a neighborhood with a garage.

Oh, I know. I'm just being a nerd. The entire area wasn't built for cars. And 100 years later everyone's grown accustomed to driving four blocks to the 7-11 and saving their spot with some folding chairs. It's cultural, and that's probably what annoys me most about it. Cars parked down the median, on top of sidewalks, and massive SUVs blocking the line of sight at every singe intersection looks just plain trashy.

If the situation wasn't 50+ years old, people who live within walking distance of buses and subways would do what they do in every other city and take the public transportation that's provided for them. Plenty do, but when you have hundreds of cars parked on top of a subway line and major bus routes it's pretty clear the problem isn't just a lack of parking garages but suburban entitlement that never belonged in an area as dense and old as South Philly.

There are areas in South Philly that could be cleared for parking garages, but would that solve anything? When people save their spaces with chairs, it's clear they already think they have designated parking. The truth of the matter is, if you can't afford parking or don't expect to occasionally drive around to find a spot, you should decide if you really need that third car, and if you do you might want to move somewhere designed for that third car.

The PPA is responsible for enforcing parking in the entire city indiscriminately but they're unofficially exempting entire neighborhoods from various unspecified laws. Where's the line? How can someone block the intersection at 5th and Tasker, but not at 12th and Walnut? How can someone park on the median at Broad and Mifflin but not ten blocks north? If they want to make that designanted parking they need to change the rules, otherwise we're just encouraging scofflaws. Laws aren't intended to be flexible. One could use the precendents the PPA has set for themselves by flagrantly ignoring thousands of parking violations in South Philly and Fishtown, violations that exceed the ones they enforce in other areas, to debase the organization.

[billy ross]

I had that situation and I put in two trees. They're amazingly effective.

Many streets have them, but they're haphazard and inconsistent. I am not sure if a resident can put them in or not, or if they have to go to the streets department for approval. Anyone know?

Also, is there a particular type, or method of installation thats required? The city shold keep a standard detail for that kind of thing for people to supply a contractor. I'm also surprised certain districts don't have special/unique/decorative bollards. As close as the houses are to the street in my neighborhood, I am sometimes worried that a car could jump the curb and do serious damage to the front faccade of my house.

[luchobucho]

I had that situation and I put in two trees. They're amazingly effective.

They city won't let me put in trees. Too narrow, wouldn't be able to have a clear path for passing.

[billy ross]

They said the same thing to me. I put them in anyway. If they get too big I'll remove them. I don't want them damaging my foundation. That's a long way off, though. Right now they're perfect.

[luchobucho]

They said the same thing to me. I put them in anyway. If they get too big I'll remove them. I don't want them damaging my foundation. That's a long way off, though. Right now they're perfect.

Good to know. I'll have you come sawcut my sidewalk. I also need to figure out what to do with the old cellar stair void that is still under my sidewalk and accessible from the basement.

[hubba1]

The one thing that is some what annoying about bollards are when you are allowed to park on the left side of a narrow street, and the right side has these poles everywhere...makes it very difficult to angle into a spot. Luckily, I consider myself a pretty good parker, so I'm usually ok...but I have seen the fronts of many cars bang right into these as people were trying to back into a parallel spot on the other side. But yes, being from South Philly, I think more than just people parked on Broad (like said before, there is just no place to put these cars!) are the people who do it hanging into turning lanes in the middle of Broad... those cars deserve any side swiping, whacking, or pushing out of the way that they get!