The Brief: These Are the Most Ticketed Blocks in All of Philadelphia

1. Never hope for a parking grace period on the 500 block of S. 2nd Street.

The gist: Inquirer/Daily News data analysts Dylan Purcell and Michelle Tranquilli have taken a swing at the massive release of parking ticket data released by the city last month. Their analysis found that the single most ticketed block in the whole of Philadelphia is 500 S. 2nd Street, where drivers found a staggering 24,695 violations waiting on their windshields between January 2012 and March 2015. That’s the block featuring angle parking in the middle of the street, just south of Headhouse Square. A close runner up was the 100 block of Chestnut Street, where 24,516 tickets were issue. South Street from 2nd to 6th Streets is one big danger zone, as are the big shopping blocks west of Broad on Walnut.

Check out their interactive map for more. It zooms in more closely than the city’s (also excellent) visualization of the same data.

Why it matters: Obviously this is valuable intel for drivers who park their cars in Philadelphia. But there’s lots to glean here as well for anyone interested in understanding where parking demand is most intense, and where it’s relatively slack. The Philadelphia Parking Authority concentrates enforcement on areas where demand is highest (as it should), making tickets issued a pretty solid barometer for what sections of the city might be helped by stepped up transportation services. Conversely, on those blocks where demand is light, there might be an opportunity to use a bigger share of the streetscape for purposes other than parking, like parklets, bigger sidewalks or, yes, bike lanes — without having to fight off hordes of angry drivers.

2. The Nutter administration is taking the transition to a new mayor very seriously.

The gist: Chris Hepp takes a look at the Nutter administration’s transition plans, which are being helmed by Karen Stokes, who was hired by the city in January for the express purpose of managing the transition from Nutter’s end. Judging by Hepp’s reporting, the preparations look to be well underway:

“This a big job, and you want someone focused solely on it,” Nutter said. “If you take someone who already is doing something else, they are kind of doing this and kind of doing something else. You want focus.”

Why it matters: As Hepp notes, the transition from Mayor John Street to Mayor Michael Nutter was a bit rocky — no surprise, really, given the relationship between the two men. Nutter and Democratic mayoral nominee Jim Kenney (who is the heavy favorite to run laps around GOP candidate Melissa Murray Bailey this fall) have their own combative history. Will it get in the way of a smooth transition? The bet here is no. The two men appear to have put a lot of the old animosity behind them, and Nutter gave Kenney a boost in the closing weeks of the campaign by calling serious (and very critical) attention to Anthony Williams’s promise to get rid of Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey if elected mayor. Williams, you’ll recall, was Kenney’s chief rival in the primary.

Nutter told Hepp:

“It is all very fast and rapid,” he said. “There is a lot to learn. I just want to make sure the next mayor is up to speed on things so they can get a running start. My role is to be supportive. Otherwise, I will stay out of the way.”

After all, the mic has already been dropped.

3. Claudia Vargas has a Q&A with Alan Greenberger, the Nutter administration’s development honcho.

The gist: Greenberger, the deputy mayor for economic development and commerce, is one of the figures in the Nutter administration whose work has had a big, tangible impact on the physical city. He played a central role in the rewriting of the zoning code. He’s run point for the city on huge projects like the ongoing redevelopment of Market East. Vargas asked Greenberger what the administration’s development legacy would be. He replied:

I think the real legacy is that we’ve made the city more friendly to business and investment both locally and from across the world.

I think we will get a lot of credit for bringing Market Street East back and we’ll get a lot of credit for what we are doing in North Broad. . . . Both waterfronts.

Why it matters: The Nutter administration’s approach to development has critics on a couple different sides, from those who feel it caters too much to developers to those who feel it hasn’t done enough to make development in the city easier and less expensive. Greenberger has, inevitably, been a lighting rod for a lot of that criticism. But you’d never know it to talk to him. He’s always unruffled and always has something smart to say about big picture questions. Greenberger told Vargas he’s not staying in city government, but he’d “like to stay involved in thinking about and doing things that relate to city building, in this city.” It’ll be interesting to see where Greenberger lands.

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