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Philly Free Streets Begins; Streets Cleared, Cars Towed

By John McDevitt, Alexandria Hoff

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- City officials had the best of intentions when shutting down streets for Philly Free Streets day, but there were some problems.

Folks in Philadelphia were experiencing the city in a whole new way with open streets. Thousands enjoyed walking, biking and jogging along South Street and other roads without cars or trucks in their paths. But others were forced to deal with a communication error by the city that lead to crews ticketing and towing vehicles, rather than simply relocating them.

The first ever Philly Free Streets event started at 8 a.m. Saturday, allowing residents to walk around Center City without having to worry about traffic.

"People can talk, converse, have a nice time," said one woman. "This is the best thing they could have thought of."

The area included South Street between Front Street and the Schuylkill River Trail; MLK Drive was shut down to the Falls Bridge, and all roads in Fairmount Park to the Please Touch Museum were also closed to traffic.

The idea of a day with no cars on the street grew out of the security zone from the visit of Pope Francis last year.

It may feel like the pope's visit, but Mayor Jim Kenney said open streets was a concept that he also experienced in New York City when Fifth Avenue was shut down to cars to make way for physical activities. With walks, runs and rides planned throughout the morning and early afternoon, Philadelphia was embracing the same idea.

"I think they should do it a couple of times a year," said another woman. "Maybe once in the fall and once in the spring."

Acting Deputy Streets Commissioner Mike Carroll was riding an Indigo bike share bicycle. He said the event also gave exposure to small business that otherwise may not be noticed from a car.

"You see people peeking in windows, they are reading menus, and that's great that great exposure for South Street," Carroll said. "I think it's good for the city people coming from various parts of the region to see what's going on here. It's good."

Stylists at Deluxe Hair Salon near 22nd and South Streets agreed.

philly free streets
(credit: John McDevitt)

"We are trying to market ourselves a little bit better today, actually being able to talk to people out on the street, because people walk by all the time and they are always like 'I had no idea this was even here.'"

However, some car owners were not sharing the same enthusiasm. In order to accommodate the event, tow crews worked throughout the night removing vehicles along the approximately eight-mile route.

The city said Saturday afternoon that due to a miscommunication, some cars parked along the event route were ticketed and towed rather than simply relocated, but promised to fix the mistake.

"This error will be fixed: all tickets will be cancelled; anyone who already paid a towing charge to retrieve their car will have that payment refunded; and anyone who has not yet retrieved their car can do so without having to pay," spokesman Mike Dunn said in a statement. "Please note that the No Parking signage was posted along the entire route beginning on Thursday and completed by 8 p.m. Friday. In addition, flyers were placed on doors and the Streets Department made robo-calls to affected residents prior to the event to inform them of the parking restriction. The information was also on the event's website. Nonetheless, the City apologizes for the inconvenience the towing may have caused."

philly free streets
(credit: CBS)

The event was set to end at 1 p.m., but police restrictions on parking along South Street were to remain in effect until 4 p.m.

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