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If you search #NoSavies or #NoSavesies on Twitter, you get an endless stream of photos, complaints and expressions of confusion from South Philadelphians. And even the official account of the Philadelphia Police Department (@PhillyPolice) plays its part in the timeless debate over whether one can save a parking spot with strategically placed objects.
To put it briefly, there is no debate. The space in front of your house, for better or worse, is not your property, but the city’s.
“The philosophy has always been ‘The space in front of my house belongs to me’ and that’s really not the case,” 1st District Police Captain Lou Campione put it plainly Tuesday. “The space in front of your house, streets-wise, is public property unless you have a driveway in front of your house that’s been approved.”
As we round the finish lap of the month, Philadelphia has experienced its fourth-snowiest January in history. With a cumulative figure of 24.7 inches, the snow and slush are still problematic parking barriers.
“If somebody shovels out the spot, the thought process is, ‘Since I shoveled out that spot, I’m entitled to park there’ and you’re not,” Campione explained. “The same way you’d do the work to shovel the sidewalk and say that you’re the only one who’s going to use the sidewalk. The same principle applies – that does not give them the privilege to reserve that spot.”
With more snow and more clean-up necessary to make way for parking spots in neighborhoods with already difficult parking options, the conflicts escalate in the winter months.
What seems particularly tricky about this age-old South Philadelphia tradition is that it’s hard to catch someone in the act, something the police are very rarely able to do. And some parkers are even loath to get out of their car and simply move parking spot holders because they’re afraid of what maniacal parking territorialism will do to their cars.
Geoff Kees Thompson, a resident of the 2200 block of Kimball Street and board member of the South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA), 1901 Christian St., boiled it down to a pretty simple premise.
“People think of parking in front of their house as their right,” the Center City IT firm manager expanded. “They are using public property for the storage of a private piece of property.”
Whether a block is zoned for permit or non-permit parking, there are still going to be car owners who let their vehicles sit through the snowy winter without moving their vehicles. Even worse, for neighborhoods like Thompson’s Graduate Hospital/South of South combination, they are zoned for the same zone as Rittenhouse, resulting in commuters from New Jersey snatching cleaned-out spaces while neighborhood residents run errands.
Of course, for non-car owners, the issue’s all a little laughable; watching your neighbors bicker over parking when you’re perfectly content to commute and execute errands sans-vehicle.
“You get your groceries delivered, you live 10 blocks from work and you live five blocks from your child’s school,” Thompson hypothesized. “And if you need a car you’ll get a ZipCar or Philly Car Share.”
It’s no big surprise, however, that politicians, city offices and departments are unwilling to sound off on the issue.
The Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) was quick to claim no involvement on the matter of saving parking spots.
“The PPA has no involvement with the issue of ‘savies,’” Martin O’ Rourke, the agency’s spokesman, replied. “Any questions regarding ‘savies’ should be answered by the city or police department. The PPA has no enforcement jurisdiction on the issue.”
The Philadelphia Streets Department was also unwilling to take any stance on the issue.
“This is a police matter,” June Cantor, the Streets Department’s Public Relations Specialist, responded to an e-mail requesting comment. “The #NoSavesies hashtag represents the Police Department, not Streets.”
To be sure, the Streets Department doesn’t enforce parking but oversees the City’s network of roadways. From its website: “Included among our many duties are the ongoing collection and disposal of residential trash and recyclables, as well as the construction, cleanliness and maintenance of our entire street system.”
Jon Geeting, a resident of the 800 block of South 10th Street and freelance policy analyst and writer who specializes in development and transit politics, has written extensively for the local civic-minded site thisoldcity.com.
“They could write tickets, but I’ve never heard of them doing that,” the Bella Vistan said of the practice of using props to hold spaces. “How do you know whose parking chair it is? I guess you could seize the chairs, since anything left in the street is technically litter. But that’s not anybody’s priority during a snowstorm.”
Some Philadelphians say it’s a generational thing.
“Renters probably won’t have cars,” Thompson explained, getting to the idea that it’s long-term residents, homeowners and block stakeholders who are often holders of the #ProSavesies philosophy. He detailed what is a pervasive mentality: “I’ve lived here 15 years, I deserve my car, I need to have my car to run errands, but I may not even use it on a daily basis.”
Parking, plainly put, is a “hot potato” issue, and, it seems, very few people are willing to take the lead on any kind of large-scale innovations or improvements. But it’s often the older generation who at least has the wherewithal to make its voice heard.
“There’s no secret to their power: they call politicians and tell them what they want them to do, and new Philadelphians and younger residents don’t,” Geeting said.
Shortly before press, a police report came through of a scuffle on the 2000 block of Manton Street over the moving of an orange traffic cone that was holding a parking spot (see page 6). The defendant allegedly used a stun gun on the victim after an argument, and now faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault.
“People do call 911 and complain,” . Campione said. “There’s actually a ticket that can be written to the person doing it – but it’s difficult to enforce if it’s observed. We don’t get a lot of calls, but on a snow day they’ll get five or six calls.”
Contact Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at bchenevert@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
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