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Parking Authority details bus-lane cameras, smart loading zones and enforcement gains
Summary
The Philadelphia Parking Authority told City Council it will expand automated enforcement programs and roll out a smart loading-zone pilot, pointing to steep reductions in speeding and crashes where cameras have operated and describing ongoing neighborhood enforcement sweeps.
Philadelphia Parking Authority Executive Director Rich Lazer testified Feb. 18 that the PPA is expanding automated enforcement and rolling out technology-driven loading-zone enforcement and described recent enforcement results.
Lazer said the PPA will begin a bus-lane camera program in late spring or early summer and will expand the automated speed-camera program to Broad Street, with camera stretches “over the Navy Yard to the Boulevard.” He cited the authoritys findings on Roosevelt Boulevard, saying: “Our speed cameras along Roosevelt Boulevard have reduced speeding by a dramatic 93% and reduced crashes by 36%.”
Smart loading-zone pilot and enforcement sweeps The PPA described a smart loading-zone pilot concentrated in core commercial corridors (roughly Walnut/Spruce/Chestnut near Rittenhouse, the authority said), with approximately 25 loading zones and about 80 cameras. Lazer said the system would operate with a short grace period and then bill in small increments (he described it as “start to charge 10¢ a minute on the plate” after a few minutes). The PPA also described stepped-up enforcement around illegal or nuisance vehicles, noting tows of more than 870 ghost vehicles and removal of more than 4,000 unregistered vehicles in recent months. The authority said concentrated sweeps — often coordinated with L&I and police — target illegal body shops and cars with fake or temporary tags, and that inter-state tag rules complicate plate checks when vehicles originate in Delaware or New Jersey.
Mobility and ADA enforcement Lazer emphasized the PPAs ADA Mobility Access Initiative, a combined public-education and on-street enforcement effort aimed at reducing sidewalk parking and curb-cut blocking. The authority reported issuing over 40,000 mobility-related violations since launching the program and said its bike-lane enforcement unit has issued more than 10,000 violations since March 2023.
Why it matters The PPA framed the programs as life-saving and traffic-calming tools. Council members pressed for details about pilot locations, implementation timing and how the revenue and enforcement results will be tracked and reported. Lazer said the authority will provide outreach and a grace period in the initial rollouts.
Ending The PPAs presentation reassured council members that new camera and enforcement programs are imminent and that the authority will continue coordinating with OTIS, Streets and the police to deploy technology while also seeking to resolve cross-jurisdictional enforcement challenges with neighboring states.
