6 Philly Neighborhoods Target Of New Street Cleaning Program

PHILADELPHIA — In cooperation with other city officials, Mayor Jim Kenney announced Tuesday the launch of a new Mechanical Street Cleaning Pilot Program in six neighborhoods. The program will run from April through November.

As part of the city’s Fiscal Year 2020 Budget and Five-Year Plan, Mayor Jim Kenney proposed historic investments in streets including a $2.3 million annual investment in street cleaning to reduce litter on the City’s streets and sidewalks.

"Watching our city get dumped on day after day seriously burns me up," Kenney said. "It is the reason why I have fought to bring back a residential mechanical sweeping program. Being able to restore this program in the neighborhoods that need it most is something I am very proud of, and I thank the Streets Department for their work on putting this pilot together."

The City’s Zero Waste and Litter Cabinet focuses on developing strategies and solutions to reduce the waste entering landfills or conventional incinerators, combat litter, and enhance the cleanliness of streets and public spaces. Mechanical cleaning is the latest action the city is taking to ramp up its means for addressing litter.

"Using the Litter Index we’ve spent the last two years collecting data to identify the areas of the city where litter and trash debris are most prevalent," said Managing Director Brian Abernathy. "More importantly, we identified the areas of the city where mechanical cleaning will be most effective."

The Mechanical Street Cleaning Pilot Program will be piloted in six residential areas:

• West Philadelphia - Parkside Avenue to Lancaster Avenue, from 52nd Street to Girard Avenue
• Southwest - Woodland Avenue to Kingsessing Avenue, from 49th Street to Cemetery Avenue
• Kensington - 2nd Street to Frankford Avenue., from Tioga Street to Lehigh Avenue
• Strawberry Mansion - Sedgley Street to Lehigh Avenue, from 29th St. to 33rd Street
• Logan - Godfrey Avenue to Roosevelt Boulevard, from Broad Street to 5th Street
• South Philadelphia - McKean Street to Oregon Avenue, from 4th Street to 8th Street

The estimated cost of additional personnel to implement the pilot program is approximately $425,000 for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2019. An additional allocation for four mechanical brooms at $280,000 per vehicle will support the street cleaning operation.

This pilot program is more comprehensive than standard mechanical sweeping. It will help to clear loose litter on sidewalks and other items not easily accessible with a standard mechanical sweeper.

The structure and sequence of the operations in each pilot area will be:

1. Trash and recycling will be collected on the regular scheduled collection day.
2. Streets Department laborers equipped with back pack blowers and hand brooms will clean each pilot route the day after trash and recycling collection.
3. 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.
4. To ensure cleaning is maintained SWEEP Officers will patrol neighborhoods to address Sanitation code violations related to litter.

The Mechanical Street Cleaning Pilot Program is the next step the city has taken to partner with residents and deliver services that allow them to live on clean and beautiful blocks and feel safe in their neighborhoods.

As this is a pilot program, 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.

Residents are reminded that the Mechanical Street Cleaning Pilot Program supports community led efforts to clean blocks.

City Sanitation regulations must still be adhered to including setting trash out on regular trash day in the authorized location.

Only household trash should be set out for pick up.

Visit the Streets Department website here for specific regulations.