Q + A: City on the Move

The City of Philadelphia is a key driver of upgrades to our transportation infrastructure, from EV parking, to improved bus and bike lanes, to zoning updates. To get the latest on what’s happening in City Hall, CONTEXT asked two administration leaders about their plans, challenges and hopes for the future.

Anna Kelly is Senior Policy Advisor for EV and Parking in the Office of Multimodal Planning. She manages the City’s strategy to expand publicly available EV charging infrastructure as part of an equitable EV transition. She also works alongside partners at the Philadelphia Parking Authority to develop parking policies that work for all Philadelphians.    

CONTEXT: Do you see a correlation between the availability of parking and the viability of mass transit?  

Anna Kelly: The City of Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) is focused on making sure our transportation system supports all users. Philadelphia is among the top cities for lowest rates of car ownership. We have to ensure that our transportation system works for everyone, including cyclists, pedestrians, transit riders, and motorists.   

As with all parking issues in the city, this varies neighborhood by neighborhood. There are areas within the city where parking demand far outweighs supply. In these locations, incentives are already there for mass transit. In other areas, parking supply incentivizes driving. Our parking policies are aimed at addressing issues that are specific to each neighborhood and tailored to each community’s needs.   

A number of cities have experimented with getting rid of parking requirements for new construction. Would Philadelphia ever consider this?  

Parking requirements can significantly increase the cost of development and lead to urban sprawl. Currently, there are no parking requirements for the most commonly mapped zoning designations across the city. For zones with parking requirements, the ratios are low in comparison with other cities, so much so that City Council has occasionally passed legislation to increase parking requirements in certain areas of the city. While this doesn’t add up to a wholesale elimination of parking requirements, the Philadelphia City Planning Commission has been successful in limiting parking requirements in dense and transit-oriented zoning districts where parking requirements do not serve a clear purpose and can unnecessarily increase the cost of housing development.  

Are parking fees (meters, tickets, permits) invested into improving our streets and sidewalks?  

The Philadelphia Parking Authority’s (PPA) revenue is split between the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) and the City’s general fund. This split is determined by state legislation, which establishes percentages for PPA, SDP, and the general fund.   

What is new and exciting in the Philadelphia parking world? Any changes that you are looking forward to?  

Curbside EV Charging: The City is actively pursuing policies to expand access to EV charging infrastructure. In particular, we are focused on neighborhoods with high percentages of multifamily housing and rowhomes where folks might not be able to charge at home overnight. We are actively pursuing strategies to introduce curbside EV charging in these neighborhoods through federal grant opportunities and through a recent RFP to establish a public/private partnership for curbside EV charging throughout the City.   

Curb Digitization: The City’s Smart Cities Department received a grant from the U.S. DOT through the Smart Grant program to digitize the curb in partnership with PPA. This will allow both the City and PPA to quantify parking throughout the city and to make informed policy decisions. This work will also facilitate expansion of Smart Loading Zones, which improve commercial deliveries throughout the city.   

Increased enforcement of parking regulations: Executive Director Richie Lazer has been very effective in increasing enforcement of illegal parking, including daylighting of intersections and ensuring our sidewalks are safe for pedestrians across the city.   

Are there any parking precedents in other cities that you think would be appropriate for Philadelphia?  

Seattle, San Francisco, and Minneapolis are doing some really exciting work around digitizing the curb, pricing parking to encourage turnover, and digging into curb management. Digitizing the curb is the first step in understanding occupancy, and parking supply and demand across the city. There is a lot that can be done to manage all of the uses of the curb that happen every minute of the day here in Philadelphia.   

Christopher Puchalsky is Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives in the City’s Office of Transportation and Strategic Initiatives (OTIS). He leads transportation policy and planning work at the City and oversees the Office of Multimodal Planning, the Indego and bus shelter systems, and the overall partnership with SEPTA.  

CONTEXT: Since our issue is all about parking, can you describe how the City is using parking to benefit cyclists? Are there any other modes of transportation that parking design also benefits?  

Christopher Puchalsky: Getting the right parking policy benefits everyone. The big change in mindset in the field is from managing “parking” to managing “the curb” — i.e. we have this limited resource of curb space. How do we best utilize it to manage a number of different policy objectives? There are tradeoffs. There is more demand for curb space than available space. Ensuring space for all the ways that people use automobiles is important for quality of life in Philadelphia. But these uses need to be done in a way that doesn’t endanger others.  

Managing the curb space benefits people who are using buses and trolleys. We improved the regulation of curb space on Chestnut Street to reduce the amount of time that buses were blocked by double-parked vehicles, but also to provide a legal space to drop off passengers and deliveries. This project was one of the precedents for the current work to improve parking and loading on Spruce and Pine Streets.  

Daylighting intersections and improving sight distances at intersections and driveways, by ensuring that cars are not parked right up to the crosswalk, improves the safety for people driving, walking, and biking.  

Can you describe the legislation that will allow for parking protected bike lanes and where is that legislation in the process?  

The motor vehicle code has a provision wherein people need to park within 12 inches of the curb or edge of the roadway. While we think the existing motor vehicle code allows for bike lanes that are separated or “protected” by a row of parked cars, PennDOT would like more explicit provisions allowing this design. These designs have been proven effective not only in Philadelphia but across the country in improving safety outcomes for people biking, but also for people walking and driving.  

The legislation got farther this last session than it ever has, but did not pass and, like all bills, died at the end of the session. We’re hoping that this common-sense technical fix will be reintroduced this session and become law.   

Has Philadelphia ever considered an emissions tax (aka congestion pricing) similar to London or New York?   

Not at this time. We are focused on measures to support an equitable EV transition and to support mode shift towards transit, biking, and walking.  

Please share any new projects in Philadelphia that you are excited about.   

So many! We’ve won a lot of federal and state grants for projects that we now need to implement. Projects such as the Chinatown Stitch, expansion of the Indego system, and the redesign of Castor Avenue. As 2026 celebrations approach, there’s excitement building to get the city ready for America’s 250th birthday. Construction has started on a project to transform Market Street in Old City by adding sidewalk-level bike lanes, new bus boarding platforms, and a new curbless plaza at the intersection of 2nd and Market Streets. We’re also preparing for all the FIFA, MLS, and MLB fans to join us in Philadelphia in the summer of 2026 — all of our regional transportation partners will make sure people can get to all of the incredible events happening safely and sustainably, and maybe without bringing their cars!  

We’re also very excited about the projects that were built in conjunction with the Department of Streets the last several years. It can take years for people to adjust their travel habits to new infrastructure around them. Projects like the twin bike lanes on Chestnut and Walnut streets in West Philadelphia, for example, will continue to attract people to cycle for either transportation or recreation for years to come. Projects like “Broad, Germantown, and Erie” are just finishing construction and will improve the quality of life for residents and businesses at this important North Philly intersection.  

Can you describe any good street design precedents in other cities that you would like to see here?  

We’re always learning from other cities. Protected intersections have been on our aspirational list as we’ve seen them roll out in cities such as Chicago and Salt Lake City. Like many ideas from other cities, it’s been more of a challenge to implement here because so many of our streets are smaller than those in municipalities out west. We’re always looking at ideas from other places and thinking about how to “Philadelphia-ize” them. We’re also bringing a lot of transit improvement ideas to our streets from other cities. We’ve seen bus boarding platforms along protected bike lanes elsewhere and are bringing that idea to Philadelphia. We’re also painting our major bus lanes red after seeing success in places such as New York and San Francisco. ■ 

CAPTIONS 

Community Outreach for the “Broad, Germantown and Erie” project regarding  
roadway improvements and placemaking.  

PHOTO: GROUND RECONSIDERED 

Rendering of the proposed triangle improvements for the “Broad, Germantown and Erie” streetscape project.  

DESIGN AND RENDERING: GROUND RECONSIDERED.