I missed the story about the new parking meters in Headhouse Square when it was first posted yesterday* but D-Mac over at Philadelphia Will Do had his characteristically humorous take on the inability of many Philadelphians to embrace change:
We Philadelphians hate the machines because we're too [bleeping] stupid to use them. The Inquirer's Katie Stuhldreher in my favorite story of the day:"I've lived around here a long time and I just want to know what the heck is going on. What was wrong with the old meters?" said Hilda Schoenwetter, a retired teacher who parks frequently at Head House Square. [...]
Ed Gray, a driver looking for a space, said he didn't like having to walk over to the meter in the middle of the block instead of having one right at his parking space.
Maryann Dolan, seeking a space so she could bring her dog in for a doctor's appointment, looked at one new meter and said: "I don't know what I'm doing here. I think it's just ridiculous."
Yeah, those meters sure are hard. So hard that 95 percent of Portland's meters use the technology and the city has descended into a pit of lawlessness.
Setting aside the seminal question of do Philadelphians (in general) fear change more than other cities and if so, why, I'd like to ask why it seems like the Parking Authority is the only government, or quasi-public, agency that seems to embrace the cutting edge of technology for performing their jobs? Just off the top of my head I can think of three innovations, not including these new multi-meters: (1) smart cards for the existing meters, (2) credit card readers in taxi cabs and (3) the new ticket writing devices used by the meter readers. Each of these has, in some way, improved efficiency, provided better customer service and showed an acuity for best practices being done in other cities.
I realize that the PPA is technically under state control and not governed directly by the mayor or City Council (did I just answer my own question?), but they still perform an essential service for the City. Do they get more funding than other city agencies? Are they more visionary? Is it a function of having been relatively recently taken over by a new set of managers?
Maybe mayor-elect-elect Nutter's recent visit to Baltimore to check out how they do the whole city services thing is a sign that the City might stop complaining about governing authority of PPA and start following its lead.
*To give credit where credit is due, The Philadelphia Public Record had a story about the meters in their June 21st edition.
Comments (8)
Haven't seen the new merchant processing parking meters in Headhouse Square and I'm not sure how Philly is accepting the meter bandits or hardly care about Nutter's Baltimore trip > http://pdn.philly.com/2007/05/10/chakanutter.html of spending his vision to see how they work.
The purpose is to ticket a vehicle over their parked time , so why should I care about this technology.
Posted by Jasper Zeigler Jr | June 28, 2007 11:45 AM
I loved the post! really enjoyed it, If you need a hand with your SEO just let me know
Posted by build backlinks | November 13, 2011 7:07 AM
Great post really enjoyed it mate :) If you ever need some help with SEO let me know
Posted by is it ok to use duplicate content | November 23, 2011 10:44 AM
I loved the post! really enjoyed it, If you need a hand with your SEO just let me know
Posted by random posts | November 27, 2011 11:06 AM
I loved the post! really enjoyed it, If you need a hand with your SEO just let me know
Posted by lil wyane new song | November 27, 2011 12:31 PM
Ridiculous story there. What happened after? Take care!
Posted by best carinsurance | January 18, 2012 2:51 PM
What a lovely story! The tale in this YouTube video that is posted at this place is in fact a pleasant one with having good picture feature.
Posted by cheapcar insurance | January 19, 2012 7:54 AM
Hello Dear, are you genuinely visiting this site regularly, if so after that you will absolutely take fastidious knowledge.
Posted by cheap carinsurance | January 19, 2012 8:51 AM