Philadelphia Parking Authority
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | January 11, 1950 |
| Jurisdiction | Philadelphia |
| Headquarters | 701 Market Street,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106 39°57′21″N 75°11′07″W / 39.95581°N 75.185357°W |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent agency | Commonwealth of Pennsylvania |
| Website | www |
The Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania that manages many parking operations for Philadelphia. The PPA was created by the Philadelphia City Council on January 11, 1950, for the purpose of conducting research for management of off-street parking and establishing a permanent, coordinated system of parking facilities in the city. Since then, the PPA's scope has expanded to include parking operations at the Philadelphia International Airport, most street-parking policy enforcement, and regulation and enforcement of taxicabs and limousines.
The PPA's status as an agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania rather than the City of Philadelphia allows for the Republican-controlled state authorities to offer patronage positions in the largely Democratic city. The former board chairman Joseph Ashedale has over 10 family members on the agency's payroll. An audit found the former PPA's director, former Republican state representative Scott Petri, did not meet the minimum qualifications of the job description and his $210,000 salary was above comparable positions in other cities.
The Parking Authority:
- Generates needed revenue for the city
- Coordinates the parking efforts of public agencies
- Builds and operates public parking facilities
- Does planning and analysis of parking requirements
to provide full parking services for Philadelphia residents, businesses and visitors.
In popular culture it is the basis of the reality television show Parking Wars.