A Philadelphia snow emergency route tow starts when the city declares a snow emergency on 110 miles of posted routes. Parking is banned on those streets. Violators are ticketed and towed. Broad Street and Roosevelt Boulevard are snow-emergency routes. Locate the car at (215) 686-SNOW or findmytowedcar.org. A specific snow-ticket dollar figure could not be confirmed for this page.
110 miles, red signs, then a declaration
Philadelphia marks 110 miles of snow-emergency routes with red signs. The ban is not automatic on the first flake. It runs on declaration. Once that order is in, cars left on those routes are ticketed and towed.
Broad Street is on that network. So is Roosevelt Boulevard, the US-1 arterial through the Northeast. Hunting Park, Olney, and Oxford Circle sit on those corridors. A car left overnight on Broad in a declared emergency is in the tow-away class. A car on a side street that isn’t posted is a different question. Read the sign. Then check the declaration.
The January 1996 blizzard dropped 30.7 inches, the single biggest on record. The 1994 ice storm is the other winter marker in the verified history. Those storms explain why the route list exists. They aren’t a current-year total.
How to find the car after a snow tow
Call (215) 686-SNOW, which is 215-686-7669, or use findmytowedcar.org. The advanced search is at findmytowedcar.org/advancesearch. You can also start from philapark.org/tow.
Published lots with phones:
- Lot 1, 2501 Weccacoe Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19148, (215) 683-9550
- Lot 6, 4701 Bath Street, Philadelphia, PA 19137, (215) 683-9510
- Lot 10, 6 E. Oregon Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19148, (215) 683-9601
PPA uses more lots than these three. Confirm the lot on the lookup before you drive in the storm.
If PPA has the car, the under-11,000-pound schedule still applies: $175 straight tow, storage at $25 per 24 hours plus 22.5% tax. Ask the lot the current balance. Do not add an invented snow-ticket number to that math. A “$51 snow ticket” figure is not verified.
I-76 still crashes in winter. PennDOT logs about 400 to 500 crashes a year on the Schuylkill, and the Conshohocken Curve piles up on ice. Those highway recoveries are not the snow-emergency-route program. They are a different dispatch.
This brand doesn’t run the snow lots
Quick Tow Philadelphia is a referral service. We don’t declare snow emergencies. We don’t staff (215) 686-SNOW. If the car is released and cannot be driven on packed snow, we line up an operator for a separate haul. That price is quoted before dispatch.
Call (610) 557-1544 for a private winter recovery, a ditch winch, or a lot pickup after release. See accident recovery and emergency towing. Written requests go through /contact/. The line takes calls 24/7. We publish no arrival time.
Suburban towns in Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester counties are not on Philadelphia’s 110-mile list. Norristown, King of Prussia, and Upper Darby set their own winter rules. Do not apply the PPA schedule there.
Frequently asked questions
How many miles of snow-emergency routes does Philadelphia have?
110 miles of designated routes, marked with red signs. Parking is banned on those routes once a snow emergency is declared, and violators are ticketed and towed.
Are Broad Street and Roosevelt Boulevard snow-emergency routes?
Yes. Both are on that network. Read the red signs on the block you parked, and confirm whether a declaration is active.
How do I find a car towed in a snow emergency?
Call (215) 686-SNOW or use findmytowedcar.org. Confirm the lot before you travel. PPA uses more lots than the three with published phones on this site.
Is there a $51 snow ticket?
That figure is not verified in the sources used for this page. Cars on declared snow-emergency routes are ticketed and towed. Ask PPA or the lot for the actual ticket amount on your plate.
When to call us
Call for a private winter recovery, a ditch winch, or a lot pickup after the car is released. We don’t declare snow emergencies or staff (215) 686-SNOW. The line takes calls 24/7. Calls are recorded after a notice. Call the line at (610) 557-1544, or write through /contact/.