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This woman had her car towed from a Philadelphia bike lane. But she says it didn't exist.

Woman's car was ticketed, towed from Philadelphia bike lane but she says the bike lane didn't exist
Woman's car was ticketed, towed from Philadelphia bike lane but she says the bike lane didn't exist 03:06

A Philadelphia woman says her car was ticketed and towed for blocking a bike lane that didn't exist. She said she's been trying to fight the ticket for months but hadn't gotten a call back.

Recently, Deborah Boardman has been laid up in her Philadelphia apartment recovering from ankle surgery. Last fall, just before her operation, Boardman says she met a girlfriend for happy hour and parked her car on 5th Street just South of Spring Garden.

She said she parked her car next to the curb under a three-hour parking sign and showed CBS News Philadelphia pictures of where she said she parked. Boardman said an hour and a half later, at 5:30 p.m., she came out and her car was gone but others had parked behind where her car had been and another lane of parked cars had formed farther out into the street.

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CBS News Philadelphia

At first, Boardman thought her car had been stolen only to find out it was towed to a lot in South Philly. She went to get her car the next day.

"There were thousands and thousands of cars, a sea of cars as far as you could see, and a steady flow of tow trucks bringing cars in," Boardman said.

After more than an hour, Boardman said she got her car back and learned the reason she was towed was for blocking a bike lane however, she says there were no bike lane signs and nothing painted on the street – nothing to indicate she couldn't park next to the curb.

A city spokesperson said the stretch where Boardman parked has been a parking-protected bike lane since at least 2021. However, at the time of Boardman's ticket, the area was under construction.

Now, it's a clearly marked bike lane with unmistakable street markings and white flex posts.

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CBS News Philadelphia

"I, of course, would have never parked where I did," Boardman said.

She says the ticket and tow cost close to $300 but she was hopeful she could contest the violation. She said she sent over pictures and documentation to the city's Bureau of Administrative Adjudication, or BAA. She was supposed to hear back in 4-6 weeks but 12 weeks went by and she says she never heard from anyone.

The BAA told CBS News Philadelphia it aims to resolve disputes submitted by mail within 90 days but is currently dealing with a backlog, causing a delay of an additional 30-60 days.

After we started asking questions, Boardman said she received a letter that the ticket had been dismissed. The Philadelphia Parking Authority told CBS News Philadelphia it would refund her the money for the ticket, tow and lot fees. We asked how many cars had been ticketed and towed in that area when the bike lane was not clearly marked. The PPA has not gotten back to us yet.

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