Out of line?

Pulling up to his workplace last week, Ray Dormer noticed the new angle-parking spots on the westbound side of Oregon Avenue.

Normally able to park with ease, the bartender at Cookie’s Tavern, Alder Street and Oregon, now wondered how to maneuver his car between the freshly painted lines.

The new stripes are drawn opposite to the flow of traffic, so Dormer could not simply pull front-end first into a space outside the bar. Instead, he had to stop his car, put it in reverse and cautiously back into the spot so as not to hit parked automobiles or drivers impatiently waiting to get by.

"When I was backing in, no cars were coming," said Dormer, of Northeast Philly. "All of a sudden, here comes a guy around the corner on Alder Street that almost hit me."

Dormer, 78, said the entire mess could have been avoided if the lines were drawn so drivers could pull into the spaces straight on.

"I don’t know whose bright idea this was, but to me it’s the stupidest thing I ever saw," he said.

Signs advise that the spaces are for "Back-in angle parking only." While some drivers abide by the rules, others find it difficult to appease the city’s request.

Up and down the strip, cars have parked on top of – not between – the white lines and confused drivers are trying to make sense out of the city’s attempt to organize parking.

"Everybody thinks it’s nuts," said Joe Mack, owner of Joey Mack’s Boardwalk Pizza, 11th Street and Oregon Avenue, who is concerned the confusing spaces could keep customers away from businesses on the busy avenue. Even worse, the new spots could cause major accidents, he added.

THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT of Transportation resurfaced Oregon from Broad Street to Columbus Boulevard this spring, paving the way for city workers to paint parking stripes last week on the previously blacktop-only area from Sixth to Juniper streets, said Keisha McCarty-Skelton, spokesperson for the Streets Department.

The lines, which slant toward Broad Street, were selected because back-in angle parking is deemed safer than front-in angle parking, she added.

"Front-in angle parking requires drivers to back out of parking spaces with limited visibility to approaching traffic," said McCarty-Skelton.

Residents like Jim Di Martino, of the 2600 block of South Iseminger Street, are watching drivers grapple with the new spots.

"There are lots of people trying to comply, but sooner or later they will say ‘this is ridiculous’ and not comply," said Di Martino, 77. "I spoke to a few neighbors who thought it was rather silly. We’re lucky we didn’t get circles instead of lines."

Others feel visitors will grow accustomed to parking in this unconventional manner – just as long as drivers show patience while waiting for others to park.

"It’s a matter of getting used to it," said Dan Sandy, of the 2600 block of Shunk Street. "It’s also a matter of courtesy. Everyone seems to be in such a damn hurry."