City Aims To Clear Sidewalks During DNC For Safety And Convenience
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia city officials would like to clear Center City sidewalks of everything but people, for the Democratic National Convention. Officials say they're prepared to remove anything on the sidewalk without a permit.
Philadelphia always likes to keep its sidewalks clear. On a normal day, businesses need a permit to put anything outside of their doors. But with the DNC, and attendant protests in town, they're cracking down. Spokesperson Karen Guss said the Department of Licenses and Inspections, along with the Streets Department, has been visiting businesses.
"If they have things on the sidewalk that they don't have a permit to have out there, like an unlicensed sidewalk cafe, that needs to be dismantled and removed," Guss said.
She said the city will move it, if the business doesn't. Guss said it doesn't affect most cafes, which are licensed, but they would like businesses to consider removing portable things, such as planters, and locking down dumpsters, so they can't be misappropriated by protesters.
