|
GUEST COLUMN |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
State
Rep. Tony Payton
|
|
Parking Authority needs some rehab
by state Rep. Tony Payton, Jr.
If the Philadelphia Parking Authority intends to create "an efficient, well-organized transportation system that serves the needs of the public and encourages economic development," then it's failing miserably.
There's nothing well-organized about the haphazard meter fees imposed by the PPA. Many neighborhoods have a wide variety of allowable parking hours, with little logic. What is certain is that it's often hard to remember how long you're allowed to leave your car because of the PPA's inconsistency.
And it's absurd for the PPA to claim that it means to encourage economic development while enforcing parking violations until 10 p.m. on Sunday nights. It has no discernible effect on commerce. And it is only one of many problematic practices.
The PPA also outsources many of its services, from impoundment to performance reviews of its ticketing records. If the PPA isn't equipped to handle its own ticket-processing and impound lots -- two of its most basic functions -- then we should ask why we have such a huge parking authority bureaucracy in the first place.
It's also toxic to our tourism industry when a visitor gets a ticket in the mail long after his or her visit to Philadelphia. When the normal process to dispute a wrongful ticket is an in-person hearing, it's hard to imagine that person bothering to come back.
In fact, when they turn on A&E's "Parking Wars," it's a wonder any tourist would bother to come when they see the City of Brotherly Love devolve into the city of angry citizens with boots on their cars.
Nor does the PPA make it easy on small-business entrepreneurs in the taxi industry. Enforcement officers are allowed to ticket a violation that they see and simply mail it in. These tickets often find their way to the alleged violators with late fees attached, despite the recipient being unaware of the ticket until that moment.
To dispute it, they have to go through the same time-consuming bureaucracy, often making it more economical to just pay a ticket they never deserved in the first place.
In fairness, the PPA has made recent strides to reduce the perception of it as a bloated, patronage-fueled organization. But it took the worst recession in generations, a citizen-led effort to make the organization contribute more money to education, and recent calls for clarification about its practices for even modest improvements. Even then, the funding differences occurred because the PPA simply raised its rates.
The PPA has become an all-devouring amoeba, and its operations grow as its revenue does. It's effectively caught in a feedback loop, raising fines, increasing revenue and expanding its operation because it has no internal incentive to stop or scale back anything it does. But that's why we have a state legislature.
I suggest we consider privatizing the PPA, since private companies already perform many of its functions, with the authority acting only as a middleman.
We could also clean up the city's image and aid tourism to our great city. Contracting out PPA functions to private companies would completely rid us of the patronage scheme that keeps the organization afloat.
A favorable deal, like the $1.2 billion one that Chicago made to privatize its parking meters, would be a boon for our city in this difficult economy. It would mean a more efficiently-run, apolitical body that could actually accomplish the economic development the PPA claims to pursue.
At the very least, we should have better oversight of the PPA, starting with a clarification of its purpose and effectiveness.
To that end, I'll be introducing legislation calling for a forensic audit of the authority, which would include comparative analysis with similar agencies in comparable cities.
My legislation will also call on the PPA to clarify and stand by its mission.
We've made great strides in revitalizing our city, restoring its role as a centerpiece of American history and making the city a great place to live, work and play. This positive trajectory shouldn't be hindered by an out-of-control parking authority. The PPA should be a partner in making the city great, not the car-booting archenemy of the people portrayed in "Parking Wars."
###
State Rep. Tony Payton, Jr. (www.pahouse.com/Payton) represents the 179th Legislative District.