It’s Now Easier Than Ever to Rat Out Bad Parkers to the PPA
Takes all of 30 seconds. Plus, front license plates could make a return.
A new digital tool lets you report bad and illegal parking to the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) in just seconds. (Photo via Philadelphia Parking Authority)
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It’s Now Easier Than Ever to Rat Out Bad Parkers to the Philadelphia Parking Authority
Like most of you, I despise the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA). But do you know what I despise even more? Drivers who park their cars across bike lanes or crosswalks, on the sidewalk, or way too close to the corner, making it difficult to safely make a turn. And my thoroughly unscientific research tells me that these infractions have grown wildly since 2020. Just as bad driving has become an epidemic in Philadelphia, so too has bad parking.
Well, thanks to a new service, you can report these infractions to the PPA in a matter of 30 seconds or less. The PPA already has a form that allows you to report bad parking in Philadelphia. But, because it’s the PPA, the form is clunky and annoying, the kind of thing that you take one look at and decide you don’t have the time or energy to deal with it. (Another option is to give the PPA a call; they are surprisingly quick to answer.)
Enter Laser Vision. This new digital tool from the activist group Philly Bike Action massively streamlines the process. All you have to do is take a photo, follow a couple of prompts, and… voila. Report submitted.
WHYY has more on this cool new tool.
The Return of Front License Plates?
Most states in the U.S. require both front and rear license plates. And front license plates were once a thing in Pennsylvania, but haven’t been for a long time. Now, a state senator whose district includes parts of Montgomery, Berks, and Chester counties wants to bring them back. Her argument is that it would help identify drivers in hit-and-run accidents and criminal acts. Makes sense.
Fare Thee Well, Rite Aid
If you have a Rite Aid in your neighborhood, as do I, you may not for long. The chain, which is in the middle of bankruptcy proceedings, is set to shutter 93 locations in Pennsylvania between today and July 31st.
Secession Success
Every once in a while, we hear that some state wants to secede from the Unites States, or that some town wants to secede from the state in which it sits. But I never actually hear about it happening, the seceding actually succeeding. Well, the New Jersey Supreme Court just ruled that this ridiculously small Jersey Shore community can, in fact, secede from its township.
By the Numbers
2227: Street address on Pine where “the city’s buzziest chef couple” (Amanda Shulman and Alex Kemp, as in Her Place Supper Club and My Loup) are opening their latest effort in the spot that was once Dmitri’s. (God how I miss Dmitri’s. Never been to a Shulman/Kemp restaurant.)
6: Charges a Bucks County woman is facing after she allegedly attacked her boyfriend with a meat cleaver.
11.5 percent: Decrease in Philly homicides year to date when compared to the same time period last year. That said, overall violent crime is actually up, 4.33 percent.
Local Talent
The new Superman movie is absolutely killing it at the box office. And there are two local connections you need to know about. First, the guy playing Superman is none other than Philly’s own David Corenswet, a graduate of the Shipley School. (Fun bit of trivia: his grandfather created the Choose Your Own Adventure series of books, which I grew up with.) Second, Pride of Jenkintown Bradley Cooper makes a cameo. I’m not giving away what the cameo is, so you’ll just have to see for yourself. It’s in theaters everywhere. Want to stream it? Should come out on HBO Max in September or October, but from what I’m told, this is one that’s meant to be seen in the theater, preferably in IMAX. It’s also in 4DX at KOP. I just don’t get 4DX. Maybe it’s a generational thing.
