Monkey business: Philadelphia councilman calls street parking app illegal

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Finding a parking space in Philadelphia is a bit like finding gold.

Once you have one, you don't want to let it go unless it's for a price.

A new mobile app that lets private citizens do just that - sell public parking spaces.

It's gotten the attention of drivers, but also a councilman who says it's not only illegal, but potentially dangerous.

It is called the Monkey Parking app.

It allows drivers seeking an on-steet parking space to bid $5, $10, $15, or more to another person with the app who is planning to leave their parking space.

A quick check of the app on Thursday indicated spots for sale in Philadelphia, one near 11th and Chestnut and another near 12th and Carpenter.

Fans applaud this bit of capitalistic innovation saying it beats going through the age old hunt for that needle in the haystack.

"I think it's a great idea for people who are working or who are in a rush, have a tight schedule, where you do have to add on time for parking," Michael Bee of Northeast Philadelphia said.

But others see social downsides. On street parking, they say, is a public asset, not private property.

"I guess I don't like it cause I feel that it's a public resource that everybody should have equal access to," Helen Wistman of Ardmore said.

And what about if someone puts on their blinker patiently waits for someone to exit, only to be confronted by a Monkey Parking buyer?

Councilman Bill Greenlee thinks that could lead to parking space fights which is one of the reason's he is proposing to outlaw apps like Monkey Parking.

"I think we need to stop this before it gets real legs. That's our purpose, try to move this as quickly as possible," Greenlee said.