Philadelphia Street Sweeping Program Expands To 14 Neighborhoods
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- More street sweepers hit Philadelphia streets on Monday and the city is warning people to get in the habit of moving their cars.
New parking restrictions went into effect on Monday, which caught some residents off guard.
Once a week during a two-hour period in certain neighborhoods, it's going to be illegal to park on the street because doing so would get in the street sweepers' way.
Chopper 3 was over North Philadelphia Monday afternoon as the city expanded its mechanical cleaning pilot program to include 14 neighborhoods prone to litter.
"I think it can be very beneficial to keep the city more clean and pick up the trash," Temple University freshman Isaac Bowman said.
Phase one of the program began three years ago when large trucks with spinning brushes began removing debris from the streets.
But now it's phase two, and this time, the city is asking residents to move their cars so street sweepers can reach the curb and do their job effectively.
"Right now, we do give a 30-day grace period from April 4 to May," Philadelphia Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams said. "The first week of May, cars will get warnings, but after that, cars will get a $31 fine if they don't move their car while they're cleaning."
Six neighborhoods, including portions of North Central, Kensington, South Philly, Southwest, Strawberry Mansion and West Philly, have posted signs saying "no parking" during certain hours and days of the week.
But not everyone seems to have gotten the message.
We spotted a row of vehicles parked illegally on Broad and Diamond Streets, forcing street sweepers to weave in and out of parked cars.
A parking enforcement officer went car to car handing out warnings.
"I do think it's a little unfair to like, college students in the neighborhood cause I don't know," Temple University freshman Shakeya Watt said. "It's really hard to find parking around here."
"It's a very small price to pay for a cleaner city. I think everyone knows we have challenges with litter and trash and illegal dumping in our city," Williams said. "Our commitment is we're going to clean it. The least people can do is move their car for a short period of time."
The program runs through Nov. 30.
If it's successful, the city will hire more street sweepers to clean additional neighborhoods, meaning more streets with parking restrictions.
Here are the neighborhoods with the highest concentration of trash:
- North Central: Broad St. to 22nd St. from Glenwood Ave. to Diamond St.
- Frankford: Bridge St. to Adams Ave. from Griscom St. to Torresdale Ave.
- Germantown: Berkley St. to Chelten Ave. from Pulaski Ave. to Wakefield St.
- Kensington: 2nd St. to Kensington Ave. from Tioga St. to Lehigh Ave.
- Logan: Godfrey St. to Roosevelt Blvd. from Broad St. to 5th Sts.
- Nicetown: Broad St. to Clarissa St. from Hunting Park Ave. to Windrim St.
- Paschall: 58th St. to 70th St. from Greenway Ave. to Dicks St.
- Point Breeze: Christian St. to McKean St. from Broad St. to 24th St.
- Port Richmond: Kensington Ave. to Aramingo Ave. from Tioga St. to Lehigh Ave.
- South Philly: McKean St. to Oregon Ave. from 4th St. to 8th St.
- Southwest: Woodland Ave. to Kingsessing Ave. from 49th St. to Cemetery Ave.
- Strawberry Mansion: Diamond St. to Lehigh Ave. from Sedgley St. to 33rd St.
- West Fairhill: 5th St. to 13th St. from Glenwood Ave. to Susquehanna Ave.
- West Philly: Parkside Ave. to Spring Garden St. from 52nd St. to 40th St.
For more information visit: https://www.phila.gov/programs/mechanical-street-cleaning/.
