Street Cleaning Program Much Better at Writing Tickets

An investigation into Philadelphia's street cleaning program reveals a parking ticket program that doesn't benefit the city as much as it benefits the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

1 minute read

January 17, 2019, 2:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Aaron Moselle and Ryan Briggs shares the findings of an investigation by WHYY and PlanPhilly reporters into street cleaning practices in Philadelphia—namely, the city's willingness to write tickets for cars parking during sweeping hours while failing to actually sweep the streets.

"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," according to Moselle and Briggs. "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 [Philadelphia Parking Authority] records."

The article digs into a lot more detail about the details of the city's very limited street cleaning program. None of the details reported in the article will make anyone who has received a street cleaning ticket in Philadelphia feel any better.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019 in WHYY

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