The Authority’s Regular Board Meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on April 18, 2023, will be held in-person at PPA Headquarters and virtually via Microsoft Teams webinar. You may register to attend the Board meeting virtually HERE.
Anyone wishing to make comment at the Regular Board Meeting via the Webinar must contact Kelly Quinn at [email protected]. All such emails and requests must be received by Ms. Quinn on or before April 17, 2023 to be considered for the meeting.
(PHILADELPHIA) – The Board of Directors of the Philadelphia Parking Authority today elected Lynette M. Brown-Sow as its new Chair of the Board. The vote for Brown-Sow was unanimous and followed outgoing Chair Beth Grossman’s nominating Brown-Sow to lead the public agency.
In nominating Brown-Sow, Grossman said, “Having served as Chair of the Authority for the past 18 months, we have worked diligently and rounded a corner where we can now begin to make significant and positive changes at the PPA. With Rich Lazer as our new Executive Director, I want to allow new leadership to emerge and take the helm of the PPA Board as we continue moving forward. That’s why I want to nominate Lynette Brown-Sow as Chair of the Board.”
Grossman urged all PPA Board members to join her in supporting Brown-Sow to be the new Board Chair. “Lynette is a known innovator and recognized community leader with a well-deserved reputation for hard work. I’ve worked closely with her during our time together, and she is passionate and committed to overseeing and improving the PPA. Lynette is a powerhouse of energy and ideas – and I am confident with the Board’s help and support, she will continue to move the Authority forward in new and positive ways,” Grossman said.
Lynette M. Brown-Sow is a highly respected and well-known public policy advocate and strategic management consultant. She was nominated to the PPA post by then-Republican Senate President pro tempore Joseph Scarnati and subsequently appointed by former Gov. Tom Wolf in June of 2020. She has served as the PPA Board Assistant Secretary and Vice Chairwoman since first being appointed. Currently, she serves as President of L. M. Brown Management Group LLC, specializing in governance, crisis communication strategies, and community building. A former Vice President of Marketing and Government Relations at Community College of Philadelphia for over twenty years, Brown-Sow has also served as Chair of the Philadelphia Housing Authority since 2013.
Brown-Sow has held numerous government positions over her long career in public service, including Deputy Mayor for former Mayor Rendell. Until last year she served as Chair of the boards of YAP (Youth Advocates Program) Inc., a global juvenile justice organization. She presently serves on the board of the Philadelphia Tribune Co. Inc; Crisis Management Group Companies; NHS Enterprises, Inc.; and Vice President of The Board of Directors of City Trusts, serving as Chair of Girard College via her committee assignment.
She is one of the conveners of the Forum for a Better Pennsylvania. She served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of The Consortium, a behavioral healthcare organization that named its service center the Lynette M. Brown Center of Hope in recognition of her years of service; founded and chairs the Hardy Williams Education Fund, providing scholarships and support in law and social justice; and is a founder and Chair of Women of Destiny, developing pipelines of talent to the corporate and non-profit sectors by providing mentorship to professional women of color.
In addition to being a former Deputy Mayor, she managed the Rendell transition team and co-chaired Mayor Nutter’s 2007 transition team. She also served as a member of Governor Josh Shapiro’s Transition Team. She served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment for 3 years during a city-wide code change and is Vice President of the Municipal Authority.
After being unanimously elected Chair, Brown-Sow said, “I want to thank the Board for its unanimous support. I look forward to working with the whole board as we continue to build on the progress and reform of the last two years. Beth must be thanked for her strong and steady leadership. She was the bridge that helped guide a virtually new board through a period of reform and change. We also now have a new Executive Director, Rich Lazer.”
“We are grateful for Beth’s determined leadership and dedication, and I look forward to continuing to work with her and all of our Board as we continue to focus on public safety, customer service, and helping to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods,” she said.
As long as there are humans on earth, there will be inadvertent human error — and parking tickets are not foreign to that philosophy, especially if it’s one of your first times using our pay-by-plate parking kiosks.
We get it. Mistakes happen — and we include ourselves in that statement. But there is ultimately a silver lining in each mistake we make: An opportunity to learn.
So if you ever get a parking ticket despite paying at one of our kiosks, check out below for what may have happened — and how we can make it right.
License Plate Entered into Kiosk Incorrectly:
Entering a license plate number incorrectly into a parking kiosk is one of the most common reasons for receiving a meter expired ticket while having a paid parking session.
For example, your license plate may be PA ABC1234, but when you entered the plate into the kiosk for a parking session, you entered PA ABC1233 by mistake.
This means that when a Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO) checks for payment on their handheld device, they are looking for a payment associated with PA ABC1234, which they will not find- and they will issue a meter expired parking ticket.
So, double-check to ensure your license plate number is correct while paying at the kiosk to avoid a ticket.
Tip: If you haven’t memorized your license plate number, just take a picture and save it on your phone for future reference.
Selecting the Wrong Zone Number:
The second most common reason a ticket can be issued is if the payment zone number entered into the kiosk does not match the correct zone. After parking your vehicle, it’s important to take note of the payment zone number displayed on posted signs.
Remember: Each street block and street side has a dedicated payment zone number you should reference when making payment.
Parking Enforcement Officer (PEO) Errors:
From time to time, our PEOs can make mistakes. Here are some things that may occur when our PEOs are on their patrols:
PEO incorrectly enters the license plate number when confirming payment.
PEO checks the wrong payment zone number when confirming payment.
PEO’s handheld device is experiencing a communication error with the payment server.
Getting Your Ticket Cancelled:
Good news: The PPA provides a one-time courtesy cancellation for inadvertent user errors or any PPA-related errors when making payments at our pay-by-plate kiosks. If you’ve gotten a ticket because of one of the above scenarios, we can help cancel itas long as you were in an active parking session when the ticket was issued.
Here’s what to do:
Step 1: Take note of your parking ticket number.
Step 2: Obtain a copy of your parking receipt through one of the below options:
Take a picture of your printed receipt.
Take a screenshot of your text receipt.
Fill out the below parking receipt request form.
Step 3: Send the information through one of the following:
Beginning April 1, 2023, the fuel surcharge for the month of April 2023 will be $0.95 per trip. This gas fuel surcharge notice has also been provided to the approved meter system provider(s) and is included in the information displayed on the Passenger Information Monitor (PIM) located in the passenger compartment of the taxicab.
The Board of the Philadelphia Parking Authority has rescheduled the March Regular Board Meeting date of March 21, 2023, to March 28, 2023, at 10:00 am. This meeting will take place at 701 Market Street, Suite 5400, Philadelphia, PA 19106 & via Microsoft Teams for virtual attendance. If you would like to register to attend this meeting virtually or make a public comment, please contact Kelly Quinn at [email protected] by March 27, 2023.
The Authority’s Regular Board Meeting scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on March 21, 2023, will be held in-person at PPA Headquarters and virtually via Microsoft Teams webinar. You may register to attend the Board meeting virtually HERE.
Anyone wishing to make comment at the Regular Board Meeting via the Webinar must contact Kelly Quinn at [email protected]. All such emails and requests must be received by Ms. Quinn on or before March 20, 2023 to be considered for the meeting.
