Blocking the box? You face $120 fine

Anne Olvera enjoyed the warm weather and a pleasant conversation with a friend during rush hour in Center City last night.

And then, of course, it happened. Someone blocked the damn box.

Olvera, who was leaning against her bicycle outside the Shops at Liberty Place, spotted a black Cadillac that stopped midway through a crosswalk at a red light at 16th and Chestnut streets, forcing pedestrians to dart around the vehicle.

"You see it all the time. It's inconvenient," she sighed.

But folks who frequent the usual gridlocked downtown streets should be seeing less obnoxious box-blocking, if city officials have their way.

Yesterday marked Day Two of an effort to keep intersections clear and traffic moving by having police issue $120 tickets to motorists who ignore the ubiquitous black and white "Don't Block The Box" signs.

On Friday, Deputy Mayor Rina Cutler, Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey and Parking Authority Executive Director Vince Fenerty announced the tougher enforcement plan.

Traffic Division cops are supposed to man "key intersections" from 20th Street to Broad, and from JFK Boulevard to Locust Street, during the morning and evening rush, said Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman.

The officers will also be detailed at several intersections east of Broad, like often-clogged 8th and Callowhill streets, Vanore said.

The city's plan includes other efforts to make Center City less congested, including expanding loading zones and doubling parking meter rates to $2 an hour to ensure that more spaces are available, the mayor's office said in a statement. The rates are scheduled to jump to $3 an hour this summer.

Support for heavy tickets for those who often block boxes was decidedly mixed in Center City last night.

There seemed to be few traffic jams around City Hall, or on Market, Walnut and Chestnut streets.

No visible police presence was found at the usual busy intersections on those streets.

"I think the tickets are good. I see whole lot of [box-blocking] around here," said Ceola Clay, who waiting for a bus at 15th and Market.

"Some of the drivers just about hit people," she said.

Marilyn Rodriguez, a Parking Authority officer, eyed a number of drivers who tried to sneak through red lights on Chestnut Street, only to end up stuck in an intersection.

"Some people just don't care. They try to get by, but end up blocking traffic for everyone," Rodriguez said.

"If they start getting tickets, maybe they won't do it as much." *