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Recognizing Joseph T. Ashdale, Jr., Chairman, and Karen M. Wrigley O.D. upon their retirement from the Board of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
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WHEREAS, Joseph T. Ashdale, Jr. and Karen M. Wrigley, O.D. were appointed to the Board of the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) in June 2001; Ashdale was also elected Chairman of the Board the same year; and
WHEREAS, Chairman Ashdale and Dr. Wrigley were instrumental in transforming and professionalizing the agency by improving its overall managerial efficiency and customer service. For the past several years, the PPA has been designated as an Accredited Parking Organization with Distinction by the International Parking and Mobility Institute; and
WHEREAS, Prior to their appointment to the PPA’s Board, the agency had lost control of its Airport parking operation to private vendors and suffered multiple years of abysmal financial audits. The PPA had never provided more than $17 million annually to the City at that point, and had never contributed any money to the Philadelphia School District; and
WHEREAS, By 2019, the PPA’s on-street division was delivering $57 million to the city. For three years prior to resuming direct operation of its Airport parking operation in 2005, the PPA returned on average only $13.8 million to the City each year. By 2019, its Airport garage operation delivered $35.7 million to the City for a combined on-street and airport total of 93.6 million for the year - including $16 million to City schools. The PPA’s overall operation delivered more than $132 million to its local, state, and federal partners in 2019. Since first being legislatively directed in 2004 to provide funding to City schools, the PPA has delivered more than $139 million to City schools; and
WHEREAS, Chairman Ashdale and Dr. Wrigley’s twenty-year leadership of the PPA ushered in a period of financial stabilization, expansion, and modernization of existing programs, and the creation and implementation of an unprecedented number of new safety and quality of life programs; and
WHEREAS, Under the leadership of Chairman Ashdale and Dr. Wrigley, the PPA's Live Stop program removed over 400,000 vehicles from City streets that were driven by unlicensed and uninsured drivers. Its Red Light Camera program is saving lives daily by dramatically reducing red light running at key intersections throughout the City -- in some cases reducing red light running by 92%; and
WHEREAS, Roosevelt Boulevard currently has nine intersections that are monitored by red light cameras which has dramatically decreased red light running on the Boulevard by 58% since 2005. When the first red light cameras were activated at Grant Avenue and the Boulevard in 2005, 3,304 red light running violations were recorded on average each month during the first four months. At this same intersection during the first three pre-pandemic months of 2020 (January, February, March), an average of 263 red light camera violations occurred each of those months for a staggering 92% reduction in red light running at this intersection over a sixteen-year period; and
WHEREAS, The PPA assumed regulatory control of all taxicabs and limousines in Philadelphia in 2005 and all transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft in 2016. The PPA’s training, vehicle inspections, and regulations have directly benefited the traveling public in and around Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, In 2010, Chairman Ashdale worked with the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, the City, and Commonwealth to develop the PPA’s 15th and Arch Streets property into the new Family Court building, where the PPA currently operates a public parking garage. Dr. Wrigley has volunteered additional time on Board Committees, including the Audit Committee, which is responsible for overseeing the agency’s compliance with its financial obligations; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the tenure of Chairman Ashdale and Dr. Wrigley, they have continually advocated and pushed for the use of cutting-edge technology to improve customer service and overall operational efficiency. In 2009, the PPA led the nation by installing the first multi-space parking meters used in any City in the country. These new meters were hailed for providing better service to the public and cleared crowded City sidewalks of 7500 old parking meters. The PPA increased innovation by bringing the pay-by-phone meterUP app to Philadelphia and is now utilizing new license plate recognition technology to improve ticketing and collections; and
WHEREAS, Chairman Ashdale and Dr. Wrigley actively worked to reform the agency and institute new transparency policies, including a robust Procurement Policy, Ethics Policy, revised Employee Manual, and open hiring and promotion procedures. All the PPA’s audit reports, contracts, Board Minutes, and thousands of other agency records are available on the PPA’s website for anyone to access and review; and
WHEREAS, Above all else, Chairman Ashdale and Dr. Wrigley’s tenure at the PPA was marked by a focus on people and improving their lives. They each care deeply about the PPA workforce and their well-being, as well as the quality of service the PPA delivers to the public every day; and
WHEREAS, In total, the Philadelphia Parking Authority has delivered over $1 billion in the last 20 years back to government entities through sound fiscal management and effective cost-cutting measures. The success of the PPA has been recognized by peer review organizations that accredit procurement departments and industry associations that recognized the Philadelphia Parking Authority as a premier organization among all cities; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Recognizes Joseph T. Ashdale, Jr., Chairman, and Karen M. Wrigley O.D. upon their retirement from the Board of the Philadelphia Parking Authority.
FURTHER RESOLVED, That an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Joseph T. Ashdale and Karen M. Wrigley O.D. as a sincere expression of City Council’s respect and admiration.
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