2026 PPPA Championship: Search to find Philly's best Parallel Parker

Now, let's switch gears, quite literally. Like I said before the break, I was scrolling on Instagram, and I came across this post that said something like, Are you the best parallel partner in Philly? And I was like, yes, yes, I am. But then I thought about it, and I was like, well, why are they asking that? And dug a little deeper. Apparently, there's a competition here in Philly, it's pretty new. I was wondering just how real could this be? So I DMed them, and apparently, yes, it is real, it is happening. So I brought in the commissioner to talk to us all about it. His name is Adam Wodka. Thank you so much for making some time for us here on Philadelphia Live. I'm so excited. Tell me a little bit more about this. How'd you come up with the idea? Sure, thanks so much. Well, hey, Judea, thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here. So, you know, celebrating and promoting excellence in parallel parking is not new. You know, I think for all Philadelphians, it's something that we experience as part of our daily lives. I live in South Philly. I know that every day it's something that I'm dealing with, and I know that all my friends and people across the city, it's something they're doing, too. So the competition is actually something that does exist elsewhere. Pittsburgh has been having a parallel parking competition for the last five years or so. And, you know, I've been thinking about it, and it feels like this is something Philly should have. It's a core part of living in the city. And so, you know, we were like, we should do this. And so this year we'll be holding the first one. I mean, really any city, but really Philly for sure. I think I saw just how skilled our drivers were when we had that snowstorm and cars were encapsulated. I saw so many videos on social media of people, like, putting their cones up to save their freshly, like, carved out spots, and people had to figure out how they were going to get around those, kind of like the game of Tetris. So in this competition, what are you looking for? What's the criteria? Totally. So before I get to the competition, I'll say that, so this is all part of the Philadelphia Parallel Parking Association, or the PPPA. So the PPPA exists to celebrate and promote excellence in parallel parking across the city, the idea being is that we're all better off when there are more good parallel parkers across the city. So what we look for, we're looking for somebody who's right and tight in that spot, right? So you're up close against the car in front of you, the car behind you. You're nice and close to the curb, leaving room for people to get by you, and then we're talking about getting there quick. So, you know, that's another way that a lot of one-way streets in Philly, so we're not looking for someone that has to go in and out a few times. We're looking for something that's a little quicker. So the competition does have three categories that are kind of based on those metrics. So one is called one shot. Everyone gets just one shot to do a parallel park. That's measured by how close you get to the curb. The second is a tight squeeze. So the cars around you will be set to a set amount, probably about 12 inches, bigger than the car that you're driving. You can use your own car. And we see how many moves, who can have the fewest moves to get close to the curb. And then the last category is under duress. So that's trying to simulate, like, real-world things that we all face in Philly. And so, as you say, maybe there's a chair in the street, maybe there's somebody honking in front of you, maybe there's people walking by, and who can get into that spot the quickest. I'm thinking about the kids in the back. Say, Mommy, I want McDonald's. Let me do this first, and then maybe we'll think about the next thing. I thought the schools were really cool, and I saw something on Instagram when you guys posted that the competition was listed. Somebody was like, I don't think that you should be able to use backup cams. What's the rationale, and are you able to use one? Controversial. The position is, so I drive a 2011 Prius. It's not a new car, and that car has a rear-view camera. So, to me, rear-view cameras have been around for a while, and I do think that's a part of parallel parking these days. We're thinking about maybe there's kind of like an old school category or an old school designation or a bonus for people who do do it without the rear-view camera, but for me, that's a legal part. Okay. Okay, I like it. My car does have a backup cam, but I clearly don't think it really makes a difference if you have facial awareness. It doesn't matter if you have a camera or not. Like, you either got it or you don't. That's how I see it. So, how do people reach out to try to become part of this? Is there like an application process? Sure, exactly. So, we just opened applications two days ago. We have almost 50 applicants already. Yes, people who are interested can go to philaparallelparking.org or on Instagram, philaparallelparking. And there, if you go to the website, you can see the 2026 PPA Championship. PPPA Championship, I don't want to get confused. And there, you can fill out an application to be one of the people to participate in the event. Okay, it sounds simple enough. Do you guys already know when you want to hold this or where you want to hold it? So, we're looking at the fall for sure. So, it will be in September, October. We're talking to a few different locations. To be very honest, we're still thinking through what makes the most sense in terms of off-street or on-street, right? What do you think? To me, on-street is more authentic, but off-street is a little easier to control elements. So, we're still thinking through that. And we'll be able to announce the final date and location in the coming weeks. What do you think? Where do you think it should be held? For sure. Let me ask the room and the audience. We're on social media right now. So, we've got a lot of people in our live stream chat. If you guys have a preference, let me know. Larry had a lot to say the other day. He's being quiet now. On-street for sure. This is on-street. Yeah, right. That's what I'm thinking too. That's what I'm thinking. Wait. He said maybe it should be something by the sports stadium. Because it definitely would be very busy and very tough. That could be good. I was thinking that too. By the park. I mean, whatever it is. I want it to also be accessible for people on foot to be able to come down and see it. So, stay tuned for that news. Happy to hear people's opinions. But, looking to make that announcement in the future. Okay. We are all looking forward to it. Like I said, it was so much fun when we saw it. We were just trying to verify that it was real and to know that this is happening. Pittsburgh's been doing it. Now, it was all his turn to see how we do things down here. Adam, thank you so much for making some time for us here. I think a lot of people are going to reach out after this. Okay. I'm excited. Thank you so much for being here. Pleasure. Take care. No problem. Bye-bye. Thank you so much. Bye-bye.