PPA will start charging for loading zones at 22 spots in Center City Philadelphia – here's where they are
Parking in a loading zone in Center City, Philadelphia, could soon cost you a couple bucks — or get you a ticket for a lot more — under a new PPA policy starting April 1.
The Philadelphia Parking Authority recently announced its new Smart Loading Zone initiative to keep the city streets clear from delivery drivers and to get traffic moving in the Center City District.
The initiative will add cameras to 22 loading zones near the intersections of Chestnut, Sansom and Walnut Streets between 12th and 20th streets.
After a warning period from April 1 - April 20, fines will start being issued to violators starting April 21.
How do PPA's new Smart Loading Zones work?
In the 22 zones, cameras will monitor vehicles that pull up and time their stay in the space. The first three minutes are free — so if you can get parked, pick up or drop off a delivery and get moving, you're OK. But for any stay longer than three minutes, drivers and fleets will need to be registered with a new service called CurbPass.
Registering for the service allows cameras in the loading zones to read your license plate and then charge your card linked to your CurbPass account. Drivers will pay 10 cents per minute parked past three minutes.
If you park in the loading zone for over an hour while registered for CurbPass, or over three minutes while not registered, you will get a ticket for $51.
The cameras are also watching for double-parked vehicles, and those will be issued $76 tickets.
The zones will be marked with white signs surrounded by a purple border. The sign will include information to help register for CurbPass - you can also text "PHIL" to 855-707-1211 to register.
The PPA says the cameras are not capturing faces or other identifying features of drivers, only license plates.
Why is PPA adding fees and tickets for loading zone violations?
The head of the PPA said the move is aimed at combating congestion and increasing efficiency on busy streets.
"On any given day, our Center City streets are severely congested—often due to delivery vehicles parking wherever they can, whether legal or not," Executive Director Rich Lazer said in a statement. "We believe our Smart Loading Zone Initiative is a significant step toward resolving these issues, bringing delivery drivers into compliance, and reducing illegal parking that leads to daily gridlock."
You can find more information on the Smart Loading Zones and sign up for CurbPass in Philadelphia on the PPA's website.
Sheldon Devertil, an Amazon delivery driver, said the policy will unfairly affect delivery drivers. He said they have no choice but to park wherever they can.
"I don't think they should've done this at all," he said.
