Great Moments In Local Public Policy

The primary reason that unlike every other city in the world we don't have regular street cleaning in most of the city is because "but mah parking..." People get mad that they have to move their cars and get mad at their tickets when they don't move them. People like to pretend this is a "just stop littering" thing but streets get filthy with street gunk - greasy residue and leaves - which then flows into the drain system and clogs that up and you can imagine the problems. It isn't just an aesthetic issue - though that should be enough! - it's a problem for the water system.

There are a few remnants of our street cleaning network, supposedly. Hahaha.

WHYY and PlanPhilly reporters deployed to these business corridors didn’t have much more luck spotting the city’s cleaning crews. Over the course of one week in December 2018, the reporters did not observe any street sweepers on any of the posted routes before, during, and after the posted “no parking” hours.

But even if sweepers don’t show up consistently, The Philadelphia Parking Authority’s agents do.

Between 2007 and 2017, the state parking enforcement agency issued over 148,000 tickets to drivers for failing to move their cars on days designated for street sweeping, according to PPA records. Together, these tickets amount to $8.1 million in fees and penalties, of which the agency has collected $5.5 million. Only about a quarter of all PPA revenue goes back to the city and school district.