Making space for home team

The recent presidential election notwithstanding, few topics generate as much controversy and ill will in local neighborhoods as parking during Eagles home games.

The battle to keep fans out of the area turned north more than a month ago, when a group of residents organized a protest at 10th and Oregon. They wanted to highlight the plight of people who live outside the Sports Complex Special Services District yet are still affected by game-day crowds.

Neighbors complained about the growing presence of Eagles fans and having their cars towed because they aren’t included in the district’s boundaries, which extend from I-95 South to the south side of Oregon Avenue and from Seventh to 20th streets.

First District Councilman Frank DiCicco joined members of the Parking Authority on Monday night at the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School, Broad and Shunk streets, to offer his solution: free temporary parking permits.

"This is the second program we’ve tried in the last four weeks," he said. "It’s just a temporary, quick-fix solution designed to get us through the rest of the season."

DiCicco’s idea was largely embraced by the crowd of residents at the meeting — a surprise, given the opposition that permeated the community just hours before.

"Everybody showed up ready to argue," said Catherine Procopio, of the 2600 block of South 10th Street. "People were upset before because they thought we were going to get charged for the stickers. But I think they’re all satisfied now."

From the beginning, DiCicco was adamant that neighbors give his idea a try.

He noted that the permits — distributed to residents who live east of Broad to Seventh Street and north of Oregon to Porter Street — will allow neighbors to park south up to Bigler Street on game days without the fear of being towed or ticketed.

Though it’s not a permanent solution, the councilman maintained that it is a start.

"It really is like trial and error," he said. "It’s hard to put these kinds of things to a general consensus, but if this program has faults, I’d do what I can to adjust them."

As satisfied as residents might be with the stopgap solution, some resent being left out of the process to develop it.

Procopio complained of a lack of communication between the city and residents.

"We were never invited to attend any meetings. We never knew what was going on," she said. "We never even know if there’s a game on or not because they leave those parking signs up all week."

Procopio’s concerns were echoed by Tony Greco, president of the South Philadelphia Communities Civic Association.

Greco said he, too, had been left out of the loop since attending an initial meeting with DiCicco, City Council President Anna Verna and Managing Director Phil Goldsmith.

"The neighbors have to decide what they want for themselves," he said of the parking proposals. "If you try to force something on them, it could wind up hurting the whole community."

In response, DiCicco cited his meeting with protesters in October and letters sent to residents about the permit system.

"We don’t have the resources to hold meetings every night of the week," the councilman maintained, adding that he heard out about 60 people at the protest. "We mailed letters out before and after the election. I think I did what I was supposed to do."

In addition to meeting with Greco, Verna and Goldsmith, DiCicco also worked with the Parking Authority on the permit solution so it would resemble existing programs in Center City and Queen Village.

Other neighborhoods are divided into parking zones, he explained, and neighbors are able to park within a block of their designated zone.

"This is an area that is really split down the middle right now," DiCicco said. "This is more of a neighborly way of handling it, of letting people who live close to each other park within a block of their homes."

The parking permits offer a respite to the ticket-and-tow weary, but they do not address the longstanding problem of Eagles fans who park north of Oregon Avenue and walk to the game.

There is still no way to prohibit fans from parking in the unprotected neighborhoods, and the police barrier system that was adopted during the Eagles’ last home game to block off Seventh and 10th streets has since been abandoned.

"I see them every week. They drop their cars off and go to watch the game. Meanwhile, we have no place to park our cars," said Anna Trolli, of the 2500 block of South 10th Street. "Sometimes my husband has to park three blocks away."

Greco called the fans’ parking choice "an ongoing hassle," adding, "This is why we want to make sure this is done the right way."

Tim Flaherty, an Eagles fan who lives up the block from Trolli, views the situation another way.

"I don’t think the fans make that big of an impact," he said. "You can’t find parking around here any day of the week anyway."

For their part, the Eagles are now making full use of the "S" lot in the Navy Yard, which provides 1,000 extra spaces. Employees and fans park at the lot and take a shuttle bus to the stadium. Additional spots have been made available at the former site of Veterans Stadium.

DiCicco said numerous residents have requested that the Sports Complex District be expanded to include neighborhoods north of Oregon Avenue, but he doubts it will ever happen.

"The question always will be, where do you draw the line?" he posed. "You can’t go all the way up to Snyder Avenue because that would be impossible to manage. I think it’s more likely that we’ll one day look at establishing permanent parking zones over here."

Greco commended DiCicco for getting involved with the parking problem, but stressed the situation will need more attention to be fully resolved.

"We don’t want to see neighbors bickering with each other," he said. "We need to keep the residents involved and take our time. It’s the only fair way of doing this."