This week, for the first time in well, ever, the median on South Broad Street is completely free of parked cars, and a new petition wants to keep it that way.
As of this morning, 429 people had signed an online petition calling for the City of Philadelphia to continue enforcing parking rules on South Broad Street after the Democratic National Convention. The petition begins:
The street already looks and feels better. More importantly, the street is safer, too. No more blocked turning lanes; no more drivers and passengers suddenly exiting vehicles in the center of the street; no more pedestrians suddenly popping out from between parked vehicles; no more dangerous traffic conflicts as drivers in the left-hand lane try to parallel park in the median.
The South Broad median has long served as an impromptu parking lot, leaving visitors scratching their heads, perplexed as to why cars can park in the middle of one of the city’s major streets. For whatever reason, the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) has turned a blind eye for the past 100 years despite it being 100 percent illegal.
Yet one day before the start of the DNC, the PPA announced it would tow any cars parked illegally on the median that week. As of Monday, July 25, 95 percent of cars had been moved before towing began, according to Philly Mag.
Last night, 5th Square created an online petition calling to keep the median car-free after the convention is over.
— 5th Square (@5thSq) July 26, 2016
We’ll have to see if the petition makes any headway post-convention, but until then folks can enjoy the rare car-free site until 8 p.m. on Friday, July 29 when the ban is lifted.