Elizabeth Song | Stuck in traffic

Cars and Philadelphia streets are a match made in hell.

The circulation situation is a heart attack waiting to happen. Rush hour traffic glides through city streets as easily as cheesesteaks and scrapple slide down clogged arteries. With SEPTA buses and taxi cabs jostling for room, motorists navigate circuitous routes down potholed streets.

But the worst part about getting around Philadelphia is parking. Parallel parking. Double parkers. Parkers in the fire lane. Skyrocketing garage rates. And overzealous meter maids.

Make no mistake about it: I hate the Philadelphia Parking Authority. Owning a car in Philly is a pain. Parking is even worse. Finding street parking in Center City past five on any day of the week is nigh-impossible. You either swallow a flat $25 parking lot fee for an hour of dinner or drive aimlessly down one-way streets for a spot.

You might think that's annoying. But cruising also contributes to air pollution in an already smog-clogged area and aggravates urban congestion problems.

Unfortunately, the situation on campus isn't any better. "Parking has been my biggest nightmare and my biggest deterrent to being at Penn," said first year Nursing grad student Maribel Kissack.

Kissack, like many of her fellow nursing grad students, is required to have a car handy for clinicals.

She spent between $300 and $400 on parking tickets last semester.

I admit, my previous life in Southern suburbia has spoiled me for the rigors of city living. I don't expect vast SuperWalmart lots in the city. Nor do I want to encourage the car-centric culture that relegates carless residents to second-class citizens and strands them inside urban centers.

Most of us know that having a car in the city is sheer insanity. It should stay that way. But we can at least make getting around Philly a possibility for those who require it - especially when the public transit system is faltering. The urban circulation situation and the price of gas are big enough deterrents for drivers. We shouldn't make parking an additional headache.

Local motorists commonly complain that city parking is confusing, expensive and inadequate. Competition for prime curbside spots is tough. This past summer in Philadelphia, I stood outside in the sweltering heat to hold a parking spot from being snagged away by the next desperate motorist.

So what's causing the problem?

According to Transportation and Engineering professor Vukan Vuchic, metered parking makes sense in areas that need more opportunities for people to get in and out quickly - like stores and restaurants. Yet the price differentials between the hefty flat-rate garage parking and cheaper metered parking ensure that everyone will be going for the street.

In the short run, the city should encourage garages to adopt more flexible pricing policies to make efficient use of available parking space. We can also eradicate poorly marked signs and confusing parking regulations. Last semester, Kissack had her car impounded after mistaking Delancey Street for public parking.

Instead, we need signs, like those found around Europe, which signal to drivers the availability and location of parking spaces.

But more parking shouldn't be the be-all, end-all. That would "create a Cherry Hill Mall atmosphere and not an attractive human atmosphere," Vuchic told me.

In the long term, charging a congestion tax like that in London might ease some of Philadelphia's circulation woes. While the tax could stimulate an outward sprawl from city centers, the tax revenues would fund public transit systems and street maintenance. New York City currently has plans to adopt a similar policy.

Commuters and residents would be excluded from the fee, which would target limited areas during certain high-traffic hours. "If we pay and get better service, no congestion and better public transit as an option, then it will be a step forward," Vuchic said.

In the meantime, we should continue boosting programs like Philly Car Share and encouraging innovations like Philadelphia's newly unveiled Bike Share program.

Transportation is the lifeline of any urban area. It fuels the local economy and makes the daily operations of the city go round.

Unfortunately, there are no detours to forging a holistic transportation policy. But we need to start unraveling the congestion mess by investing in efficient urban parking options.

Elizabeth Song is a College junior from Clemmons, NC. Her e-mail is song@dailypennsylvanian.com. Striking a Chord appears Tuesdays.

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