88890911
East Passyunk Avenue’s narrow, crowded streets cause a parking war almost every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night between restaurant patrons and neighbors.
“I occasionally will go to the civic associations and just sit in and listen to what’s going on,” Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corp.’s Executive Director Sam Sherman said. “Every single time that you meet with the community groups, parking is an overriding issue.”
The demand for parking options in the area has been growing drastically as new businesses erupt, causing major issues for customers and community members alike.
Anthony Ruggiero, a resident of Broad Street and Snyder Avenue, said parking in general is a “mess.”
“With the City being so overpopulated like it is and with more tourists coming in, it’s difficult [to park],” Ruggiero, who has lived in South Philly his whole life, said. “I work nightshift. I get off work at 12:20 [a.m.] and by the time I get a spot it’s like 1:30 [a.m.]”
To help to solve the parking issues, the nonprofit, formerly known as Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, paired up with 1st District Councilman Mark Squilla to establish two new valet parking stations on East Passyunk Avenue. The valet service secures cars in the parking lot at Ss. Neumann-Goretti High School, 1736 S. 10th St.
“We’ve been planning this all summer,” Sherman said. “PARC made the commitment to the neighborhood and to the commercial corridor that we would spearhead getting the stands done by autumn.”
Restaurants on the 1900 block of East Passyunk Avenue launched and paid for the initial stand about three years ago. The new valet stands — one next to the Singing Fountain, 11th and Tasker streets, and the other in front of El Zarape, 1648 E. Passyunk Ave. — opened for business after Labor Day and Friday, respectively, with two attendants at each station.
“The primary motive was to take away the argument that we can’t support any more restaurants or anything like that because of parking,” Sherman said. “It was to relieve the pressure on the surrounding residential neighborhoods and to provide an efficient means of dealing with the traffic that comes through the avenue.”
The corporation funded the permitting, which totaled about $2,200, and got the valet zones established. Seven participating restaurants on the avenue are paying a monthly fee of $300 to ParkOps, a valet company Sherman hand-picked, to have the affiliated service.
“If you break it down, it’s costing each restaurant $25 per night if you average it over a month,” Sherman said. “So if they get four additional people into the restaurant because of the valet parking, it’s more than paid for itself.”
Participating restaurants can offer the service to patrons for $8. Any non-validated use of the valet is still available for other customers, but instead costs $15.
“It’s set up in such a way to encourage the restaurants to participate,” Sherman said. “But, even if they don’t participate, the valet service can still be utilized.”
Additionally, Neumann-Goretti is working with the participating restaurants on a tax credit plan that will have their state business taxes allocated to benefit the school, Sherman said.
“So Neumann-Goretti will get an infusion of money for its scholarship program to help support the school, and the restaurants simply have to fill out a form that says, ‘I want my taxes to be diverted to this use,’” he said.
ParkOps offers valet service 5 p.m. until 2 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The new valet stand at the fountain was slow during the first week of business, Sherman said.
“People just weren’t aware,” he said. “We knew that. That’s why we opened it when we did right after Labor Day because that’s typically a slow week. And now [since] the weather is cooling off, especially going into the holiday season, you’ll see more and more traffic with the restaurants.”
Lynn Rinaldi, owner and chef of Paradiso, 1627 E. Passyunk Ave., said she didn’t hesitate when Sherman asked her to participate in the valet initiative.
“Sometimes [customers] call, they’ll have a 7 [p.m.] reservation, they’ll say that they’ve been driving around and if we have a suggestion where to park their car,” Rinaldi said. “I think it’s a necessity at this point. I don’t think that businesses could operate. You know, it’s frustrating to go into an area when you have a dinner reservation and you’re getting stressed out.”
Rinaldi, a resident of 17th and Porter streets, said she understands patrons’ parking frustrations.
“If people are not familiar with the area, even if they would find a parking spot two blocks away, nobody wants to walk two blocks,” she said. “I mean if you’re from the suburbs, you’re not used to walking two blocks to grab your car.”
Christopher Kearse, the owner and chef of one-month-old Will BYOB, 1911 E. Passyunk Ave., said he is waiting to participate in the valet program until he sees a need for it.
“I like the idea of it,” Kearse said. “But I have to do more research on if it’s going to help my business.”
The avenue is located in the middle of a residential neighborhood that is mostly metered and two-hour parking, giving customers little time to enjoy traditional dining experiences.
Ryan Stauffer, a server at Mamma Maria’s, 1637 E. Passyunk Ave., said he thinks the valet stands are important for customers to have relaxed dining experiences.
“People won’t have to rush out in the middle of a meal to go put money in their meter,” Stauffer said. “They can just relax and get comfort in knowing their car is safe. … Especially here. It’s more of a sit [and] dine experience. You’re here for two, three, maybe four hours.”
The valet service is a major benefit for the people who live in the neighborhood, Stauffer, who lives above the restaurant, said.
“When patrons come in and take all the spots, [neighbors] lose spots,” Stauffer said.
Sherman hopes that visitors of the avenue reach a point where the valet service is second-nature.
“It was something that needed to be done,” Sherman said. “Hopefully we reach a point where they just expect that it’s here.”
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
88890931
88890921
