Police Sergeant Urges Philadelphians To Remember #NoSavesies When It Comes To Parking
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With much of the northeast about to be smothered in nor'easter, and with more stories coming out of vandalism or violence originating from somebody parking in the spot that somebody else shoveled out, the Philadelphia Police Department has started the #NoSavesies campaign.
Sergeant Eric Gripp talked with WPHT midday host Dom Giordano about the campaign and the misinterpretation of the law that many Philadelphians have when it comes to the ownership of their parking spot.
"There is a misconception going around the city that the parking spot that is in front of their house actually belongs to the homeowner. We see this happening all throughout the year -- it's not just in the winter -- but that's not the case. Unless you have private parking, anyone can park there."
Gripp points out that the problem does not begin around the time that people are getting home from work either, and much of the PPD has to deal with it during the day.
"Most of our police officers live in the City of Philadelphia. We shovel too. We're dealing with it just as much as everybody is, and it would be great if we came home from work and our parking spot was just where we left it. The problem is that during the day, a lot of times when folks are at work, we have entire blocks where there's nowhere to park, and it's not just cones, we're talking about heavy objects out there."
While he understands the issues that people have with the parking situation, he offers a solution so you do not have to be "the bad guy" to your neighbor.
"We understand why things are the way they are, parking is a problem, but we all have to live here and we all have to get along. So, rather than getting fights into with their neighbors, just call 911, we'll come out, we'll be the bad guy. We'll move the cone. We'll explain the law to folks and take it from there."
The problem that Gripp has seen all too often though is tempers flaring when people think that their neighbor is breaking the law by parking in their newly cleaned parking spot.
"It's not just the argument over the spot itself. It's everything that comes afterwards...Again, we were getting these calls anyhow. These calls for service were happening now, people fighting over people coming back to their vandalized vehicle. We're trying to prevent this ahead of time, and also we're hoping that if everybody gets the message that this is illegal, that neighbors will start working together. We may be trying to look at too much of a Utopian society."