Philadelphia pledges more sensitive parking ticket writers

You may get a smile with your next parking ticket. The Philadelphia Parking Authority is instituting a sensitivity training program to make its ticket writers and other staff more friendly.

Parking Authority Executive Director Vince Fennerty says undercover investigators tested parking enforcement agents over the summer—trying to push them to the breaking point.

"Seven of the contacts were categorized as negative contacts, six as cautionary, and the remaining 142 were categorized as positive interactions with the public," said Fennerty.

Fennerty says the parking authority is spending $24,000 on the sensitivity training. He says it should have been done sooner.

"We were very willing to admit that we made a mistake, we didn't do the type of training, and now we're doing it," he said.

The sensitivity training will cover all religious, racial, cultural, and gender identity differences among others. All new Parking Authority employees will also have to take the training.