The Center City Parking Debate That Wasn't

The staff at the city Planning Commission are a cowed and beaten-down bunch, so we shouldn't have been surprised when their long-awaited study on Center City parking made only a single recommendation: It boldly called for more discussion. Still, when we heard the study was going to be presented to the full commission on Nov. 22, we rushed over, hoping to hear a gloves-off exchange on the merits of such things as limiting above-ground garages, sharply raising the price of neighborhood parking permits and banning garage-fronted rowhouses.(See my Nov. 18 Changing Skyline)

After listening politely to Senior Planner Debbie Schaaf's Cliff Notes version, the commission voted unanimously to accept the study - without discussion.

But don't worry - the commissioners are earning their five-figure salaries. When lawyer and mayoral stand-in Michael Sklaroff asked for a change in the zoning law to speed along the Marina View Towers project, the commissioners plunged into a spirited, 15-minute-long discussion on the best way to resolve his problem.

As for the parking study, look for it on a dusty shelf in City Hall.