Parking & Traffic In The City Of Philadelphia (Penn: apartment, to rent)

[KaiyaSweetSadie93]

I'm a Gen Z'er who is looking to rent in Philadelphia, & from what I have heard, Philadelphia is a pretty walkable city. However I am someone who drives, & owns a car. What is parking and traffic like in the city of Philadelphia?

When I ask what is traffic like I mean is it terrible, is there a lot of traffic everyday, ect. When I ask what parking is like in Philadelphia, I'm asking about penalties for parking, how you park in the city (like do you use a parking meter with quarters), is parking expensive, what is the best way to avoid penalties, is there any free parking here, that kind of thing.

Whatever you can tell me about parking in Philadelphia that would be helpful and that I need to know would be good.

[KansastoSouthphilly]

Originally Posted by KaiyaSweetSadie93

I'm a Gen Z'er who is looking to rent in Philadelphia, & from what I have heard, Philadelphia is a pretty walkable city. However I am someone who drives, & owns a car. What is parking and traffic like in the city of Philadelphia?

When I ask what is traffic like I mean is it terrible, is there a lot of traffic everyday, ect. When I ask what parking is like in Philadelphia, I'm asking about penalties for parking, how you park in the city (like do you use a parking meter with quarters), is parking expensive, what is the best way to avoid penalties, is there any free parking here, that kind of thing.

Whatever you can tell me about parking in Philadelphia that would be helpful and that I need to know would be good.

It depends where you live. Parking in center city and the surrounding neighborhoods is generally going to be very difficult. I first moved to south Philly with a car but quickly got rid of it as it was a burden. Most inner neighborhoods have some streets where you can park and leave your car parked and some where there is a limit (typically 2 or 3 hours) unless you have a permit. Most center city spots will be metered but those spots are difficult to find. Most are using the parking apps like ParkMobile or meterUP. If you are going to live in one of these internal neighborhoods and make daily use of your car then your life will become difficult. If you intend to just use your car sparingly then I think it is no big deal as long as you don't mind walking several blocks to your car.

I will add that I went to grad school in University City and, at that time, parking didn't seem to be as difficult in the most residential section near clark park. I have no idea if that that is still the case as I rarely find myself in west philly these days.

The outer neighborhoods are generally less difficult. Out where I live in Mt Airy parking is generally pretty easy (though the natives pretend that it isn't). The only metered street is Germantown Ave and the parking authority is rarely out to enforce. Chestnut hill has a lot of little metered lots behind the avenue as well. These neighborhoods are nice but I think they would be a bit boring for someone your age.

[Jsd8675]

Driving in the city is a mess. If you find a spot, you have to worry about tickets. If you do not pay these tickets, they accumulate, and you run the risk (takes only 3-4 tickets,) of being towed and going through a nightmare back and forth to get your car.

Now, the streets are narrow, and parking is tight, so you don't want to have a nice car unless you get a garage (ie: NE Phila/affluent. Your car will get hit, banged, sidewiped, scratched, broken into and possibly stolen.

If you have a junk older car, and live in a neighborhood with non metered streets, it may be ok if it gets scratched, and ok without the parking authority. To me, however, a car is not worth it.

[KaiyaSweetSadie93]

Originally Posted by Jsd8675

Driving in the city is a mess. If you find a spot, you have to worry about tickets. If you do not pay these tickets, they accumulate, and you run the risk (takes only 3-4 tickets,) of being towed and going through a nightmare back and forth to get your car.

Now, the streets are narrow, and parking is tight, so you don't want to have a nice car unless you get a garage (ie: NE Phila/affluent. Your car will get hit, banged, sidewiped, scratched, broken into and possibly stolen.

If you have a junk older car, and live in a neighborhood with non metered streets, it may be ok if it gets scratched, and ok without the parking authority. To me, however, a car is not worth it.

Thank You. What would you say is the best way to avoid getting into accidents, messing up your car, and getting tickets in the city outside of not getting a car ??

[Redddog]

Uhg. Yeah, dude.

Parking here isn't good.

Pretty much on par with every major American city.

[Tweb66]

We probably have it worse since our city is so much older with narrower rows. I lived in Manayunk for about 5 years, I only got side swiped once, that was considered a success. In fact, only my current neighborhood (Mt. Airy) has been issue free. Then again, half of the people drive Honda Fits so they don't take up any extra room. (Seriously, did I miss the memo about getting the right car? Its all either Honda Fits or Subarus).

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

We probably have it worse since our city is so much older with narrower rows. I lived in Manayunk for about 5 years, I only got side swiped once, that was considered a success. In fact, only my current neighborhood (Mt. Airy) has been issue free. Then again, half of the people drive Honda Fits so they don't take up any extra room. (Seriously, did I miss the memo about getting the right car? Its all either Honda Fits or Subarus).

Maybe that's why Honda calls it the Fit — it fits into those small parking spaces on those narrow streets better. Looks to me like the residents aren't dunces in those neighborhoods.

And I didn't know there were so many lesbians in this city. (Sorry, couldn't resist. Seriously, though, Subarus are also generally compact, and they have a reputation for durability and the ability to handle almost any driving situation thanks to all-wheel drive.)

KalyaSweetSadie93: I'd say that, after "get rid of your car" (you say this is a non-starter for you; I'd say that if you arrange your life here properly and find the right neighborhood, it might be possible for you to do this unless you work at a job not easily reachable on transit or have family obligations that require frequent travel outside the city) and "avoid driving in the city whenever possible," the third option is "Find somewhere other than the street to park your car."

If you don't find a house or apartment with garage or backyard lot/driveway parking, then this means finding an off-street garage or lot and renting a monthly space in it. This will cost you, though — substantially more than the price of an annual resident parking permit that lets you ignore the time limits on non-metered spaces in many neighborhoods.

[bridge12]

I don't mean to sound like a jerk (though I am pretty sure this is a fake concern troll poster who has posted similar topics before and been banned), but if you are really interested in cars/parking then the vast majority of Philadelphia is just not going to be a good fit for you. I'd say the same thing to someone who wants to walk/bike everywhere and live in the exurbs.

[Pennsport]

Originally Posted by bridge12

I don't mean to sound like a jerk (though I am pretty sure this is a fake concern troll poster who has posted similar topics before and been banned), but if you are really interested in cars/parking then the vast majority of Philadelphia is just not going to be a good fit for you. I'd say the same thing to someone who wants to walk/bike everywhere and live in the exurbs.

Yeah, ya think? LOL...

Just about every post trending now has at least two easily-identifiable right-wingers keeping these ridiculous convos going. I wish we would all just ignore and post about relevant topics. It's exhausting coming here reading about a domestic dispute in Brewerytown or the sugar tax (I mean, seriously?) when things like this (https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...sington-corner) are happening all around us everyday.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

Yeah, ya think? LOL...

Just about every post trending now has at least two easily-identifiable right-wingers keeping these ridiculous convos going. I wish we would all just ignore and post about relevant topics. It's exhausting coming here reading about a domestic dispute in Brewerytown or the sugar tax (I mean, seriously?) when things like this (https://www.ocfrealty.com/naked-phil...sington-corner) are happening all around us everyday.

Isn't that what the "Philadelphia2035" thread is for?