Surprise! The pope is coming, and South Philly is worried about parking
Parking can sometimes seem as if it’s the only issue on the minds of South Philly residents. It’s usually been a problem when discussing new development projects, but now there’s a more holy reason for residents to complain.
More from 6ABC:
Cars can drive in, but they can’t leave.
Residents are anticipating people driving in to see the pope will fill already crowded streets with few parking options.
“The parking already, you have to drive around to find a spot, period,” resident D’Quan Young said.
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson’s office covers more than a dozen neighborhoods in the 2nd district and they are receiving a lot of calls with similar concerns.
What are your plans for the weekend of the pope’s visit?
Well, good thing we have strong transit options so people don’t have to drive, unless of course, they are in a profession that requires it. That probably covers about 30% of the drivers, so the other 70% can try riding the subway or a bus…And we can be thankful that something as amazing as the Pope visiting our city!
Honestly just planning on treating it like a snowstorm and just walking/subwaying/biking around the neighborhood that week. Should be an interesting week to say the least.
The problem with that is transit won’t be running as normal that weekend – many stops/stations will not be available/open, further limiting travel. So no, during the Papal visit, we won’t have strong transit options.
We are planning to leave our car parked and hang out in our South Philly neighborhood during the Papal visit weekend. There’s plenty to do and places to shop within walking distance. No need to deal with a car or crowds. We are lucky to have options right where we live!