Last month, the Philadelphia Parking Authority said it would only allow residents of surrounding neighborhoods to park near Lemon Hill, the site of the FIFA Fan Festival. But some people who live in Fairmount say they've been unfairly penalized since the start of the World Cup.

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To distinguish between cars owned by residents and tourists, the PPA had asked drivers living in parts of Fairmount, Brewerytown and Spring Garden to obtain temporary parking permits online or at the agency's permit office. All unregistered vehicles in the area — a zigzagging zone that starts at Cecil B. Moore Avenue and spans as far south as the Rodin Museum — would be ticketed and/or towed from June 11 through July 19. 

According to multiple posts in public and private social media channels, Fairmount residents who properly registered their vehicles have received parking tickets anyway. In most cases, they say, parking officials could not locate their cars in the PPA system, despite those drivers receiving confirmation of their registration.

"What we’re being told is that the applications of those who registered early were completed but then archived such that they are not showing up in the system," a Facebook user commented on a Philly ChitChat post about the situation. "It’s a mess and frankly it’s not surprising given that it’s the PPA."

On Reddit, another resident recalled receiving a ticket on Girard Avenue between 19th and 20th streets. When they called the PPA about the citation, they wrote, a representative said they should not have been ticketed.

The PPA confirmed Monday that they had received complaints about improper ticketing. According to the authority's acting executive director Gabe Roberts, a total of 173 tickets were issued in error to residents with valid permits. Four registered vehicles were also towed, he said, but the PPA "immediately returned those vehicles to their owners and waived all fees and fines."

Roberts said the mistakes were likely due to multiple systems running simultaneously.

The PPA will conduct this ticket review process daily to help ensure accuracy," he said in a statement. "We sincerely apologize to those residents who were ticketed or towed in error."

Residents who mistakenly received tickets do not need to take action, as the citations will be automatically canceled. They can call the PPA at 215-683-9421 or 215-683-9677 or email the authority at engageppa@philapark.org to confirm cancellations.

This story was updated with additional information and comments from PPA Acting Executive Director Gabe Roberts.

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