Phila. Lawmakers Move To Tighten Enforcement of Boot-and-Tow Parking Regulations
By Steve Tawa
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A City Council committee has approved a measure sought by the Philadelphia Parking Authority that would allow the parking agency to boot and/or tow vehicles that rack up multiple tickets despite attempts by the owner to evade enforcement.
PPA executive director Vince Fenerty asked Council to for help in dealing with drivers who try to "game the system" by not properly registering their vehicles. He said those drivers elude collection efforts because the PPA cannot get correct name and address information.
"We have people going around who have three or more tickets," Fenerty told the lawmakers. "We repeatedly ask for their identity from the state in which they've registered, and there's no one registered to that car."
The proposed bill would permit vehicles in that category to be added to the boot-and-tow list.
Fenerty says this will also help them deal with drivers who accumulate a number of tickets, then report their license plates lost or stolen in an effort to avoid paying old tickets.
"If I had a license plate with four outstanding tickets, and got a new license plate on which I have one open ticket, the current law would not make the vehicle boot-eligible because it does not meet the three-ticket threshold," Fenerty noted.
Three or more unpaid parking tickets makes a vehicle eligible for crews to attach a yellow metal "boot" to the wheel, preventing it from being moved until the tickets are paid and the boot removed.
The PPA wants tickets from the old plate to be combined with tickets from the new plate to make the vehicle eligible for the "boot" list.
The measure now goes to the full City Council, where approval is expected.