Street Level: This little lady is sick of sidewalk parking

About the RCO Project:

We all love living in Philadelphia. However, there are so many little, absurd things – crosswalks blocked by cars, garbage that doesn't get picked up on scheduled dates, parks that resemble Amazonian jungles – that add up and grind us residents to the ground. It's great the mayoral candidates are talking about big issues like crime and poverty and public schools. But realistically, shouldn't we expect the mayor to tackle the little problems too, if not more so?

So, we've reached out to civic associations (known as RCOs, or registered community organizations, in city government-ese) to find out about the little things that seemingly never get solved, and we'll be talking to RCO leaders once or twice a week while voters wrestle with who ultimately should be elected the next mayor in November. If your RCO would like to participate in the project, email gregg_gethard@yahoo.com or call (215)854-2267. Below is the third in our series:

RCO: Northwood Civic Association, a neighborhood in the lower Northeast tucked between Roosevelt Boulevard and Frankford. Residents enjoy living in a leafy, quiet and diverse neighborhood that has the feel of the 'burbs.

RCO member: Josetta Krause

At issue: Illegal parking. Philadelphians throughout the city know what it is like to see a vehicle blocking a sidewalk or crosswalk illegally. And this is an inherently dangerous situation, as all it takes is for one speeding car to hit one pedestrian forced to walk in the street for a tragedy to occur. However, getting the police department or other local agencies to respond to a car parked illegally is a seemingly impossible task.