Hate the PPA? Tell me why
We've all heard - or told - horror stories about the Philadelphia Parking Authority's inexplicably gleeful abuse of power. But the tale I'll tell in my column tomorrow is so far beyond the pale, it gives "callous," "outrageous" and "cruel" new meaning. Stay tuned.
Hate the PPA? Tell me why
Ronnie Polaneczky, Daily News Columnist
We've all heard - or told - horror stories about the Philadelphia Parking Authority's inexplicably gleeful abuse of power. But the tale I'll tell in my column tomorrow is so far beyond the pale, it gives "callous," "outrageous" and "cruel" new meaning. Stay tuned.
Meantime, help me count all the ways we loathe the PPA. What are your Top Ten Reasons to Hate the PPA? I'll excerpt the best ones for tomorrow's paper.
But first, allow my fabulously witty colleague, Daily News cartoonist and graphic artist extraordinaire Brad Guigar, to kick things off.
Let'er rip, Brad!
1. At least when that loverboy at the office writes notes to your wife, you know you're not going to be stuck with the tab.
2. Three words: "Hide and cite."
3. Parking signs written by the criminally insane.
4. That arrogant way they snap the windshield wiper down.
5. The tickets I don't mind. It's when they write snide comments on the bottom, like: "If you make love the way you park..."
6. I hate the huge statues and ostentatious buildings and -- wait. That's the reason I hate the WPA.
7. Remember that story about the PPA officer who realized that he had made a mistake and that the driver he was arguing with actually didn't deserve a ticket so he apologized and ripped up the ticket, promising to be more careful in the future? Me neither.
8. If you're gonna write a ticket, then write it. You do not need to whistle the theme to "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."
9. I prefer the old parking meters. "Kiosk" sounds like some kinda Rooskie plot!
...and the number one reason I hate the PPA...
10. Seventy-six bucks?! "Violation" is the polite term for it!
YES! I single platform candidate running on the abolishment of this EVIL government entity would be one I would vote for in a heart beat!— GigantiSP- The PPA did not just increase the payrolls by 50 % they they city and state added more functions for the PPA to handle so in turn that means they would need to hire more workers back when the d's had controll they had the same amount of workers per job class in fact most of the d's from back then have moved up to better jobs within the PPA If you had someone research the party of each worker you may find out that there is if not the same amount but more d'S working there. The PPA does the job we could allways hand it over to a private company but comon that company would make it worse more tickets would be wrote it would be all about the money not one person would get out of a ticket without going to court.Sure there are some things wrong with the PPA but you can say that even more about every city or state agency.— matthews
- The Parking Wars show, besides being horrible PR for the city, makes pseudo-celebrities out of ticket writers. It is obvious they feel emboldened. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely". We had a ticket writer in my neighborhood in Fairmount at 11 PM on a Friday night! This was not a police officer writing tickets but someone driving around in a PPA Enforcment vehicle. Is this happening in every neigborhood in Philly?! It's not happening in South Philly that's for sure, where you can double and triple park and as stated by someone else, no tickets are written for parking in median on Broad either. Bloody patronage!!! The whole entity needs to be broken down and rebuilt by someone who understands public relations. In times as these, they are not backing off taking money out of the pockets of hard working people from the region. If we all stopped paying our tickets, there wouldn't be enough boots to go around!!!— wilcowaits
When my phone rings here at the Daily News, nine times out of ten the caller begins the conversation with, “Yeah, so what happened was…”.
Because this is Philly, the caller doesn’t say, “My name is Bob” – or Mary – “and I wonder if I could have a moment of your time?” Philadelphians are too direct for that. They just say, “Yeah, so what happened was…”, and then tumble into a tale they think oughta be shared with a wider audience. I love getting these calls (even the ones where it becomes clear, after 30 seconds, where the caller sowed the seeds of his own misery), because they give me chance to connect with fellow citizens in a way that no other job allows. Well, okay, no other job for which I’m remotely qualified.
That’s why my blog is titled “So What Happened Was…”. To me, it’s the quintessentially Philly way of saying, “Once upon a time.” When I hear it, I know a good story is coming. And I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Ronnie Polaneczky has been an award-winning columnist for The Philadelphia Daily News since 1999, offering a front-steps perspective on every aspect of city life, from the sublime to the stupid. In her past life, she was the editor-in-chief of Atlantic City Magazine, associate editor at Philadelphia Magazine and a fulltime freelancer published in Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, Redbook, Reader's Digest, Men's Health, MarieClaire and others. She lives with her husband, daughter and various pets in the city's Fairmount section, where she dreams of one day singing The National Anthem at an Eagles game. In addition to her column and blog, you can enjoy Ronnie's musings in podcast form here.
Read more from Ronnie Polaneczky at Earth to Philly, the Daily News blog on anything and everything "Green
Reach Ronnie at polaner@phillynews.com.
