Crusade against cruising

It’s a cool, crisp Friday night on South Street. You and a couple of friends are driving around, taking in the sights and sounds of one of Philadelphia’s most colorful thoroughfares.

Or you’re just trying to find a parking space.

But on your third time around, a police officer pulls you over and issues a warning. The charge?

Cruising.

That’s the scenario First District Councilman Frank DiCicco hopes to achieve if his anti-cruising ordinance becomes law.

DiCicco introduced the ordinance last Thursday in light of traffic complaints from the South Street Head House District and other area residents.

The Philadelphia Anti-Cruising Ordinance defines the offense as "driving a motor vehicle on a street, past a traffic control point as established by the police department, more than twice in any two-hour period between the hours of 7 p.m. and 3 a.m."

The designated anti-cruise zone extends beyond South Street, from Lombard to Bainbridge and 11th to Front streets.

But drivers will know when they’re in the zone, as those streets will be marked with signs advising the public of the ordinance and applicable penalties, DiCicco said.

Enforcement would fall on Third District police detailed to South Street. Anyone driving past a designated area for a third time would get a written warning. A $100 fine would be issued for the first offense, followed by $200 and $300 for second and third infractions.

"I don’t expect police to take the tag number of every car that drives by twice," DiCicco reasoned, adding, "I think it will give police a tool to redirect traffic and keep traffic moving."

Police have learned to control cruising on South Street in recent years by diverting traffic, said Third District Capt. Mike Weaver. A problem especially on weekends, cruising picks up during events like the Greek Picnic and Mardi Gras, he added.

"I think it’s a good thing," Weaver said of the ordinance. "All laws would give us more enforcement abilities."

The Philadelphia Anti-Cruising Ordinance is not the first piece of legislation aimed at the South Street vicinity, an area already suffering from more than its share of quality-of-life issues.

Four months ago, legislation was passed prohibiting drivers from blocking intersections along South Street and, last year, an ordinance banning loud radios was enacted.

Since 1998, Steve Schatz has lived in Head House Court on the 600 block of American Street, between South and Bainbridge. The resident said he knows firsthand what a mess traffic creates on South and surrounding streets, so he supports any legislation that would curb congestion.

"There’s nothing wrong with people getting in their cars and enjoying a ride out, [but] on South Street it really gets backed up on weekends. The traffic is very heavy and it comes to a standstill," he said.

And the congestion carries another nuisance, Schatz added: Impatient drivers honk their horns or rev engines and motorcycles with loud mufflers, only adding to the mayhem.

"The cruising factor plays into that noise pollution, and [the legislation] will help those issues and make South Street a more livable place," he said.

Others who live and work in the South Street area expressed mixed feelings about outlawing cruising on the main drag.

"How in God’s name can they enforce it?" posed one employee on the strip who declined to give his name. "Plenty of people get lost, have trouble finding parking or are trying to locate a friend’s house.

"South Street is a gathering place where people come to have fun," he added. "They should not prevent people from doing that."

Another merchant, who also refused to be identified, questioned whether such an ordinance is constitutional. "Isn’t that taking away people’s rights? You have the right to drive around the block."

The ordinance targets cruising specifically and is not intended to punish people for trying to find a parking space, said DiCicco legislative aide Brian Abernathy.

Philadelphia’s edict was modeled after similar ones in Lancaster, Los Angeles and Georgia, he added, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld Lancaster’s ordinance as constitutional.

"Cruising is part of shopping," contended the owner of a jewelry store on the 400 block of South. "Some people don’t want to walk. In every major city that has a strip, that’s part of the culture. It adds character."

The merchant cited Broadway and Greenwich Village in New York City, Melrose Place in Los Angeles, South Beach in Miami and Michigan Avenue in Chicago as the more popular districts in which cruising is not illegal and lends itself to a vibrant street life.

But according to Abernathy, part of the impetus for the legislation is to encourage people to shop the strip.

"South Street has made a concerted effort to become more family friendly. Cruising goes against that," said the aide. "We want it to be more pedestrian friendly with people out of their cars walking around and spending money at shops and restaurants."

Schatz, the Head House Court resident, agreed.

"From a business standpoint, I think cruising doesn’t do anything to help the businesses along South Street because they need people out of their cars walking down the street in order to be able to take advantage of the wonderful attractions," he said.