Philadelphians who filled out the City’s resident survey last fall made it clear that streets and sanitation are a top concern, including fixing potholes.

Mayor Kenney’s proposed budget addresses these concerns. It will increase funding for the reconstruction and repaving of streets and invest in safer streets for pedestrians and bicyclists. If City Council passes the proposed budget, it will start on July 1, 2018.

Repaving roads
Over the next six years, $178 million of City tax-supported funds are proposed for repaving. This pays for the reconstruction and resurfacing of City streets and the construction of accessible ramps.

With increased funding, the City can resurface more streets, while also leveraging state and federal grants for additional road maintenance efforts. To put it in perspective, by 2023 it will enable the Streets Department to resurface and pave over 130 miles each year.

For bridges, an extra $12.2 million in City tax-supported funds is slated. Over six years, the City projects to spend $157 million from a combination of City, State and Federal grants for bridge reconstruction and improvements.

Investing in sanitation
The budget proposes new sanitation compactors to replace aging ones, which will increase the reliability of this vital service. The budget will allow for the replacement of additional trash compactors. This means the City can regularly replace trash compactors as needed.

Advancing Vision Zero
The budget also calls for $60 million for Vision Zero, the City’s plan to prevent traffic fatalities and improve traffic safety. This will be done by redesigning streets and sidewalks to include traffic calming measures like delineators and speed cushions. It also includes bike lanes.

Repaving schedule
Each year in April the City begins the repaving season. The Streets Department regularly releases a list of streets scheduled for paving improvements. During this process, the top layer of asphalt is milled, repairs are made to utility manhole covers, and new asphalt is laid. This paving process occurs in three stages over a three to five week period. Work is done starting in April and continues through November.

Report a pothole in your community
You can call 311 or use Philly311’s online tool to report potholes, graffiti, or street light outages. Once you submit a report, you can track its progress online to make sure it gets fixed.

• To submit a service request online, click here
• To submit a service request on Twitter, use #311 or @Philly311 in your Tweet
• To track the progress of a service request you submitted, click here