This week, the city launched a new mechanical street sweeping pilot program in six neighborhoods. Locations were chosen using data from the Litter Index.
Check out the details below to learn more about this new pilot program.
Why is the city launching a street sweeping pilot?
In 2008, the City discontinued its residential mechanical street sweeping program due to a lack of funding. While the City has continued to clean routes with heavy traffic in and around business corridors, our residential blocks have struggled with litter and illegal dumping–despite the hard work of Philadelphians who clean their sidewalks. Street sweeping was listed as a long-term priority as part of the Zero Waste and Litter Action Plan and the city is excited to be able to take this first step in restoring this service.
When will the street cleaning pilot run?
The pilot launches this week starting April 15, 2019. Each year moving forward, mechanical cleaning will run April 1 to December 1.
Where are the six target neighborhoods?
All areas selected for the pilot program have litter ratings of 2.0 or higher on the Litter Index. A litter score above 2.0 indicate a significant amount of litter that may require the support of city services.
- West Philadelphia (Parkside Ave. to Lancaster Ave., from 52nd St. to Girard Ave.)
- Southwest (Woodland Ave. to Kingsessing Ave., from 49th St. to Cemetary Ave.)
- Kensington (2nd St to Aramingo Ave., from Tioga St. to Lehigh Ave.)
- Strawberry Mansion (Diamond St to Lehigh Ave., from 29th St. to 33rd St.)
- Logan (Godfrey Ave. to Roosevelt Blvd., from Broad St. to 5th St.)
- South Philly (McKean St. to Oregon Ave., from 4th St. to 8th St.)
How will you clean the streets?
Streets Department workers equipped with backpack blowers and hand brooms will clean each pilot route the day after the area’s trash collection. Mechanical brooms will follow cleaning crews once debris is blown off sidewalks and curb lines. Residents will be encouraged but not required to move vehicles during this period to facilitate a more detailed cleaning.
Sweep Officers will patrol neighborhoods to address code violations related to litter to ensure communities are maintained.
What type of evaluation are you doing for the pilot? How will you know if it worked?
The Streets Department will conduct a follow-up index to measure the conditions after the pilot is implemented to determine the success of the program.
Will street sweeping be expanded to other neighborhoods?
The Streets Department will evaluate the pilot at the end of 2019 to explore expansion to other areas.
