Apparently there are a couple of options. Hopefully this channel works, but if not, one would need to contact the City Council division assigned to 19146 zip code which is 215-686-3412 and complain--they can ask Phila PArking Auth to issue citations to those parked on sidewalks. You can also contact the 17th District police department who handles 19146 at 215-686-3170 (not much help there though; they seem to be empathetic to the street size and stated unless others report a problem too, they would not get involved, that we should contact City Hall (hence the loop). Looking forward to your help! Our group is also working on fixing the unsafe sreet holes.

I will most certainly help.Let me try contacting the city council division.Let me know if there is anything else that can be done.

Ask to speak to "Tiffany" at the number I provided. She is very helpful and has a direct pipe to those who have auth to enforce and make change.

Please let me know how far you get. We are trying to enforce the same at 738-769.

Thanks Neighbor, be well!

You are welcome Neighbor.Let me know what else I can do to help our neighbourhood.I would like to get involved in the town watch activites.

Philly311... I've got an update to this issue that's been reported:

Just yesterday eve a resident complained that a delivery truck could not access her home (on the 738-769 block of South Chadwick Street) because of the vehicles parked halfway on the sidewalk and street--there was no room for the delivery truck to enter. Instead the delivery truck drove around the block and proceeded to dangerously back-up down the street in the wrong traffic direction. There was an argument between the truck driver and a pedestrian who was nearly hit.

The big issue here is that these vehicles do not park on the street because of the lack of width the street provides for passer-by vehicles that drive down the block. So instead they choose to park on the sidewalk; which according to PPA is 100% illegal in every circumstance. And, the majority of these vehicles are owned by folks that do not live on the block.

This is a dangerous situation that needs to be mended asap before someone is injured. The block has recently grown to 10 new homes with garages in the past 6 months, and others are in planning development. There needs to be no parking signs or trees planted to disallow sidewalk parking. It’s unfortunate to those who have been residence for a long time that haven’t had an issue, but given the capacity of the block at present and the poor walking conditions it’s causing for pedestrians, this needs to be escalated to City Council, 17th District Police Dept., and PPA.

There is also an empty lot(next to house number 763) that trucks/cars park at .Not sure who that empty plot belongs to(enough for vehicle to park).That combined with the sidewalk parking is getting ridiculous.We see no sidewalk on our block.I have been trying to a hold of tiffany but she has been out or in meetings.Will try again today.

Agreed. Those service vehicles should go away soon when the builder is finished painting and planting trees. I expect this to be in about two weeks, weather permitting. I just hope that the lot doesn't become a new home for neighborhood vehicles thereafter. I think they will put a fence up afterwards to prevent vandals from entering in the back yards of the homes on the odd number side of the street.

Please report this issue to the Police. They will come out and ticket the vehicle. Thank you. (mb)

Information submitted. (mb)

We already spoke to the Sergeant (Moore) who said we should be empathetic to the parking situation and we need to have votes from each resident to enforce parking on the block. Quite a shocking response from an authority of that stature. So we are asking Philly 311 to help us because the police and PPA have not thus far.

This is sue has been responded to by Philly 311 however further information was given that Philly 311 needs to consider in an effort to resolve.

Philly311, it is illegal to park on a sidewalk in the city of Philadelphia... We have tried the 17th District Police and PPA... Both have been unhelpful... What do you recommend? PPA says sidewalk parking in any circumstance is illegal, but the police sergeant is reluctant to have his officers ticket those parking illegally. We need help before someone is injured. We spoke to Sergant Moore.

I second this!This is critical for our safety and I have personally called 911 too but in vain.

Philly311 are you going to help with this issue?? There are multiple vehicles and we already reported the issue to Sgt. Moore at the 17th District and suggested we should be empathetic to those that are violating due to the width of the street. We don't want to ticket street parkers, we want to ticket vehicles that are parked on the sidewalk.

Are you going to help?

I think we need to take matters in our own hands now so I will be visiting the 17th district office in person AGAIN.I hope our neighbours feel the same way we do about this issue.

From those I've spoken with, they are completely on board. But besides, it's 100% illegal to park on the sidewalk. I noticed the area you reported is 701-737, is that right? If so, we're just down from you on 738-769.

PP2032, we should go to the District together.

Well,I actually live in the 738-769 area but I am upset with the parking around 701-737(turning onto Chadwick from Fitzwater is unsafe).Basically,we need this imposed on the entire 700 block. Good to know we have people on board but we may need to pass around a notice to be 100% sure and get a signature in person so as to show that we are not ok with those violating.

Ahhh, I get it, you mean turning North onto Chadwick from Fitzwater(?). If so, I get it, and agree, it's quite tight on that block as it is. That block ends up at Bainbridge. But as for our block, which is when you turn South on Chadwick Street from Fitzwater, it is exceptionally difficult to see and folks have reported almost hitting a family and also delay in a service delivery. I think you're correct that an amicable approach would be to elicit signatures from the block... but at the same time, it's been represented by PPA that sidewalk parking is unacceptable in every situation. They continued that folks that have no room to park need to park on a nearby street that accommodates.

In any event it would be nice if Philly311 would take control of this issue and see it through. The 17th District hasn't been helpful at all.

Sure,we can walk together on Saturday morning-let me know.I think they are open then(will confirm with office).

This Sat. no good, what about the following, or during the week (morning)?

I'm available to walk over next Sat morning, 3/26 if that works? Let me know a time and I'll block off.

During the week is tough because of work schedule.3/26 sounds good.11am okay?

I'm trying to post a comment here but it for some reason is not retaining what I submit; perhaps we've reached capacity limits on comments??

hahaha,thats funny and ironic.I can see your comment though.

Yes, 3/26 @ 11am works.

If you have some time to chat this evening let me know, have some info to share about block beautification efforts we're working on and such.

sure,how about 6 pm today?Let's meet at the empty parking lot next to 763.

As one of your neighbors who does not have a garage, I am going to have to agree with Sgt. Moore. Parking in the area can be very scarce at times and it can be incredibly frustrating to drive around looking for a spot. Do I want to pull my car up onto the curb? Heck no! It's not good for my car at all, but I do believe that parking partially on the curb will make it easier for you and others to drive down the block.

Myself and other who park partially on the curb are treading the balance between making the street more passible while still allowing pedestrians ample room to get by. I know this balance often skews one way or the other, but in a city full of narrow streets it's the best we can do. Would you prefer that we did not park on the sidewalk at all and made the street narrower for cars to pass?

I know your dream is that there will be no street parking allowed on your block at all and I’m sure that if you continue to petition to have that happen you will eventually succeed. While that might make you a good neighbor to the others who have purchased the new houses on the block, it’s incredibly inconsiderate to the hundreds of others who have lived there for years and don’t have the luxury of a garage.

Dga, I'm empathetic to the problem and thus don't promote prohibiting street parking... But the residential community on this block had expanded and sidewalk parking is dangerous and illegal. The immediate area provides for street parking; I've used street parking here and found it quite simple, albeit makes for a short walk to your point.

Just to be sure we're clear, you would prefer that cars parking on your block park entirely on the street and not partially on the curb? While that would make the street seem infinitely narrower, I'm sure that over time people parking there could be encouraged to do so.

Pp. 6:30 work?

dga, same page. And the block, as one can appreciate, is too capacitated to serve as a street parking solution to non residents of the block.

6.30 fine

Anonymous, while I agree in sentiment, one could say the same thing about every block in the city. With the recreation center less than a block away congesting the streets with parked cars, it's not realistic to assume that every resident of the neighborhood is going to be able to park near their own house much less on the same block that they live. Count yourselves lucky that you do have a garage and don't have to deal with the frustrations of street parking on a daily basis!

I understand, but it's important to consider that we all have two cars too. For example, PP parks their second car around the corner every night--never on the sidewalk on our block. Another neighbor has two cars, albeit they travel often, but when in town they park around the corner too.

That is correct.I do have a second car which I could park partially on the curb but I do not because it is illegal.Last Saturday night,I looked for an hour for parking and finally found a spot on 18th & Fitzwater.So yes,I do deal with the frustrations of street parking!That's part of living in the city.
Also,the biggest thing here is SAFETY.If a delivery truck had trouble driving into our block,what happens if an ambulance or fire engine needs to get in??We are very concerned about this.

By parking your second cars "around the corner" you're then parking in front of somebody else's house - whoever lives there is then forced to park around the corner on your block or elsewhere. Believe me, I would love nothing more than to park my car in front of my house every time I return home. Unfortunately, when I moved into my house I realized that wouldn't be possible...we live in a city, there is not enough parking for everyone (especially if every household has two cars), and reducing the amount of available street parking doesn't help. At that point we're left to the argument of parking partially on the curb or off - what's more important, the aesthetics of the block or the ability for emergency and other large vehicles to be able to drive down it?

Dga, and to any others in opposition with the enforcement of 'No Parking on Sidewalks' on South Chadwick Street:

Emergency and large delivery service vehicles cannot access the block, nor can visually impaired folks or families walk safely on the sidewalk given the parking situation at present. Further, I've personally witnessed on two occasions a delivery service vehicle not being able to access the block when sidewalk parking was in full expression, and I've seen a family of five almost struck by a vehicle that was turning onto South Chadwick from Fitzwater because they could not see around the corner due to the obstructed view. Safety is by no means a reasonable trade for convencice measures.

The citation of “City Living” is concurred with… that is, from Boston to D.C. city folk park on streets wherever parking is available. Private residents have a choice to request the city to enforce ‘permit parking’ if random parkers become a nuisance on any given block. Bu that’s simply not the case here. The agenda proposed with City Council is not to band people from parking on the street, rather, as previously represented unequivocally, the agenda seeks to enforce NO PARKING ON SIDEWALKS only. If the change from sidewalk to street parking causes residents to search for nearby appropriate parking, then they will join the million-plus other residents who do that every day. Sidewalk parking is not prevalent in the city. At the onset of this Issue I personally drove street after street trying to ascertain statistics… I found three streets sharing this problem, of which two of those are South Chadwick Street (South of Fitzwater and North of Fitzwater).

Closing the loop here.

.

UPDATE: The police will begin ticketing those who park on a sidewalk on South Chadwick street starting this evening. A participant has instituted a 'No Parking Tow-away' zone on the Southwest corner. There now is a 'No Parking' sign on the Northwest corner too, so the entire West side of South Chadwick street is no longer 'parkable' on sidewalks nor street. There is a coalition to make South Chadwick street entirely 'No Parking'; this is in the works and progressing fairly. Captain Washington, of the 17th Police District, acknowledged the issue last week and will begin citing vehicles parked on any sidwalk on South Chadwick street until the city approves South Chadwick as a 'No Parking' street.

Thank you to all who have been supportive in the pursuit to strengthen the pedestrian safety on South Chadwick Street!

What happened to "The agenda proposed with City Council is not to band[sic] people from parking on the street, rather, as previously represented unequivocally, the agenda seeks to enforce NO PARKING ON SIDEWALKS only?"

Thank you for showing such compassion for your new neighbors – many who have parked on your block long before you houses existed. And no, I am not going to argue that your impression of safety is more or less important than our clearly irrelevant needs.

Dga, correct about agenda, however when pursuing we were told the street is designated for No Parking and thus it's out of our hands... We specifically asked to enforce sidewalk parking only, and not to ban street parking. Sorry for the confusion or inconvenience this will or may be already causing. In the end it will make sense. Btw, do you even live on 738-769 South Chadwick, or 701-737? I ask because you will likely not be effected if you live on 701-737... This pursuit is relative to the former.

I suppose I am late to the game here--and I have no doubt that "Watch Tower" will be successful with this agenda--but perhaps it would have been appropriate to engage your neighbors first, a majority of whom have lived on the block much longer than you. Many of your neighbors are those that park on the street and while you claim that you are only concerned about curb parking, you can't seriously be suggesting that there is any room for street parking on that stretch of Chadwick. Through your, for all intents and purposes, personal agenda, you are not only inconveniencing your neighbors, but you are also drawing unwanted attention to the block. As another relatively new resident of the block, I can tell you that your neighbors are unbelievably welcoming, friendly people who look out for one another. Whether you are right or wrong about what is legal, proceeding in this manner only stratifies the residents of the block and does nothing to encourage the micro-community that has been built there. For the record, I am not a huge fan of the curb/street parking either, but I think there were better ways to handle this. Why don't you try engaging your neighbors first next time?

Anon-As a new resident of the block,I have to agree-the neighbours here are very warm and welcoming.The point is not to be a hassle here but to make sure that our block is safe.I see that we have 20 votes on the issue(up from 7 a couple of weeks ago) so a lot others feel this way.Anway,talking about it face to face is something I totally agree with and it is not too late.I can understand how old residents on the block feel but we have to look at both sides.

Anon:

Irrespective of all opposition herein, the point blank fact remains, and of which has been dignified, is that the block is designated for "No Parking"---this is on City record and can be acquired via 2nd District City Council (Anna Verna's office) or the PPA. Further, and in accordance with the safety awareness agendas SOSNA pursues and maintains, emergency vehicles are unable to access the block. Needless to say more.

Captain Washington of the 17th Police District acknowledged this issue at the Police meeting two weeks ago. His department will begin citing those who illegally park. There's now Tow Away signs on the Southeast corner. This is not the personal agenda of "one", but a coalition of several folks on the block. For example, 20 people have voted in favor of this request here ojn SeeClickFix.

Cordially.

Hi eryone me and my roomates been living on the block for 3 years now way before ya'll moved in.. the blocks is tight and sometimes cant find spaces so we have to park on the street and sometimes on the sidewalk. if you all want to make the block no parkin block then why aint ya'll already gave tickets to erybody who parks on the street for the last 3 yrs.?? i don't mind looking for a space but i better not get a ticket if aint erybody gettin tickets! i think it might be safer and look better if the street is no parkin and agree with pp2032 but need to be not given tickets to only one person erybody needs to be ticketted then, feel me?

Does anyone know if this is in effect yet? Can I still park my car on the sidewalk without getting a ticket??

As far as I know,the ticketing department is aware of sidewalk parking on our block.So please be wary-I would suggest not parking.I usually find parking on the 17th block of Catharine.

Philly311, can you please comment here as to whether or not tickets will be given out to people that park their cars partially on the sidewalk on South Chadwick street?? I'm one of the people that parks on this street because it's convenient and keeps me from having to spend time looking for a parking space around the corner. I don't live on the block, but have been parking their for some time without any issues. Am I going to get ticket??

hold up so you aint even live on the block LEX???? you need to find a space around the corner then!! YES heard they given tickets last week and i think sombody got towed

Thank you for your insensitivity, "forizzyJack". You state you have lived on South Chadwick for 3 years, BUT I have lived on Fitzwater and 16th for 10!! So South Chadwick street is very much a block I can park on as it is for you. I may not live ON THE BLOCK but I do need to park and prefer to park on "YOUR" block for convenience.

I am going to continue parking on South Chadwick, regardless of what "Watch Tower", "PP2032", or "forizzyJack" says. The only thing that will change my intent is if Philly311 confirms that South Chadwick is a No Parking block as they claim AND that it is truely illegal to park partially on the sidewalk.

Personally I don't see an issue with emergency vehicles accessing the block nor do I see it as a cosmetic problem for the folks that live on the block. They just built $600k homes on that block, as I've heard, so doesn't that speak volumes for "cosmetics".

And I'll conclude with, I am one of about four vehicles that I know of that do not reside on the block but park on the block for convenience. So that tells you that this is something people have been doing for a long time and never had a problem.

I'd like to hear from "Dga" and "Anonm" as to whether they mind if we park on their block even though we don't iove on the block. ANY THOUGHTS?

Lexus, in a previous message I tried to make the point that nobody in the city should have the right to mind if people are parking on their block. Street parking is not reservable and as part of living in the city we need to be able to share with our neighbors and visitors. While I would love nothing more than to park my car in front of my house every time I return home, for the foreseeable future I am relegated to driving around and looking for an available spot, whether in front of my house, your house, somewhere on the 1700 block of Catharine, or elsewhere.

I think where I somewhat disagree with others on this forum is in my strong belief that it doesn't serve the community's best interest to reduce the amount of available street parking. With more families moving to the neighborhood and people flocking to the rec center for various activities and events, taking valuable spots away by enforcing previously ignored no parking designations doesn't serve our best interest. Again, this is my opinion - I dont' expect everybody to agree with me and given that the block was previously zoned as no parking, I'm now resigned to looking elsewhere when I return home.

PP2032, Dga and forizzyJack, and Lexus...

Let's set up a time to take this issue offline and meet in person to discuss, yeah?

PP2032 perhaps you can set something up and invite the other offline parties in favor or not in favor to chat?

Also anon and anyone else following this issue and interested to talk-lets meet up.I am all for face to face.I think we can all figure this one out.Can meet any weekday evening after 6.30(out in the weekends).

All,

FYI-I noticed tickets on cars on the block this morning so please look out and be careful.

Watch tower, I believe the more important point anon was making is that you haven't lived on the street for more than a few months, and without ever even attempting to meet any of your neighbors, and perhaps getting a consensus, you don't like something so you are going to change it, regardless. Are you so upset about the parking in the middle of Broad south of Wash that your speerheading a movement against that? Or the triple parking in south Philly? No, this is a personal issue to you. The point is, I may even agree with the ends, but if you are going to act like a complete A-Hole in order to acieve those ends, I can't get behind that. By the way, there are 20 homes on the part of Chadwick you are talkin about, as I know of at least 4 people who are against what your doing, how can you have 22 votes for this... And how many of those 20 can you name, I'm guessing less than 5... And yes, I'm one of the 20, and I sure don't know who you are, nor care any longer...

"Anon's neighbor", your provocative dialgue isn't appropriate for the forum. I won't dignify your remarks, but can appreciate your angst. Good day.

Anon's neighbor-Why are we arguing and wasting time?Why don't we all meet?Watch tower is not alone here,we are a team trying to resolve this.Neighbours do this all the time-meet ,discuss and resolve issues....so can't we??

I'm not parking on the block any longer, so I won't need to meet. I got a ticket this morning and when I asked the officer why he said the block is designated for NO PARKING and that PPA has added the block to their route. Apparently Watch Tower and PP2032 are not acting alone, the officer stated there were 6 parties that complained to the 17th Police District. I don't live on the block and thus I'm not concerned. But I will leave you with this comment... PP is correct, if you have an issue you should meet as a team to vet out the details. Not sure who ANON NEIGHBOR is but I would suggest open dialogue and reduce 'name calling'.. gets no where.

good luck people.

John- Fitz&17th

Folks, if your address does not fall within 738 to 769 South Chadwick Street, this discussion and agenda does not concern you. For instance, if you live on 701-738 South Chadwick, then you are not affected by the parking enforcement.

I appreciate all the feedback and contributions to the discussion. This issue is considered closed given PPA and 17th District have taken over on behalf of the parking & safety coalition of 738-769 South Chadwick Street.

Thanks to all and be well.

Cheers,

WT

Thanks pp, that was one of my points... I don't see how any of my dialogue was provacative, just presented several issues that those of us neighbors that know each other have been discussing today which were again ignored... But I am taking myself out of this discussion, to quote a fellow neighbor, "of all the issues I couldn't care less about, this is by far, the most recent." (I'm pretty sure he ripped that off from a movie, or perhaps, Seinfeld)

For what it's worth, I've learned late yesterday evening that the "Watch Tower" user name is actually a small group of neighbors on South Chadwick that monitor safety and such (not one person, but more like 4 or 5). Not sure how exactly to identify who they are, but I would suggest having open discussions going forward. I guess that exaplains how they have so many votes for this issue?

My $0.02 cents.

Dear Watch Tower,
After months of claiming sidewalk parking is 'dangerous' and harassing poor neighbors who have parked on this block for years, you finally realized your goal of making Chadwick Street NO PARKING and now you have the audacity to park in front of your own garage ON THE SIDEWALK???

If you expect others not to park on the street, you also must follow the rules.

ALSO, you make it difficult for opposing side neighbors to back out of their own garages.

Have some courtesy please.

The issue is very very very important, except when I want to ignore it...

This 'issue reporter' now parks in front of his garage ON THE SIDEWALK at night. Hypocritical to say the least. Time to call PPA...

lol... TROLLED HARD