Recently, while parking in the Fresh Grocer garage at 40th & Walnut Sts., we were thrilled to get a spot near the elevator, but had to move the car after noticing an interesting sign pinned up against the wall, “Parking for hybrid and electric cars only.”

While we were not thrilled to move the car, we were a little curious about what this was all about. Apparently, this green initiative is the work of UPenn’s Green Campus Partnership; an organization “dedicated to promoting a sustainable culture and implementing environmentally-conscious policies.” That’s well and good, but their website doesn’t explain what the green parking thing is about.

Digging a little deeper, we checked in with Penn Parking Management. According to the good people over there, the idea behind the parking spaces is to reward University employees who drive hybrid or low-emission vehicles. Five percent of parking spaces around the University that sit close to exits and elevators are now reserved for these types of cars to guarantee their owners a good parking space. The logic behind the 10am deadline is that most employees are at work by then. Timely and responsible folks, those Upenn employees.

This is the first time we’d ever seen a green-only parking section, and while we’re not sure it will make any sort of a difference, we do applaud the effort. Now, if we only owned a hybrid…

— Alex Graziano