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A new map lets Philly residents track street paving. Ones for snow plowing and trash pickup are coming.

The Streets Department's paving map, called PavePHL, is updated every hour.

The city's street paving crews lay down a new surface on Benton Street near Bustleton Avenue in October. A new Philadelphia map lets residents track street-paving progress.
The city's street paving crews lay down a new surface on Benton Street near Bustleton Avenue in October. A new Philadelphia map lets residents track street-paving progress.Read moreDAVID SWANSON / Staff Photographer

The days of wondering when your street will be paved or plowed may soon be of the past.

With winter over and the temperatures rising, it’s paving season in Philadelphia. The city began this year’s by releasing the list of streets it plans to tackle, as well as a new tracking map that gives residents insight into the Streets Departments’ paving progress.

The map, called PavePHL, is updated every hour, according to Streets Department spokesperson Keisha McCarty-Skelton, and is one of the components of StreetSmartPHL — an online tool for the department to communicate with the public about its services.

“The new paving guide and PavePHL map make the paving process more transparent and inform residents on what to expect when their street is getting repaved," Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams said in a statement.

The other features on StreetSmartPHL? PermitPHL, which provides information on street and sidewalk closure permits, and, coming later, PickupPHL and PlowPHL. The latter two will loop residents in on trash and recycling collections and snow plowing, respectively. PickupPHL launches in September, while PlowPHL will follow in the winter, McCarty-Skelton said.

Streets and potholes

The city has repaved more than 60 miles of streets so far in 2019 and is expected to surpass 95 miles for the year. In 2018, 77 miles were repaved.

As outlined in his 2020 proposed budget, Mayor Jim Kenney is looking to invest $200 million in a six-year program that would boost repaving throughout the city to 131 miles each year.

Better repaving efforts mean fewer potholes later on, chief highway engineer Steve Lorenz told The Inquirer earlier this year.

The Streets Department has filled more than 30,000 potholes since Jan. 1, according to its website.

“I know that repaving and potholes are major concerns for our residents, I hear about it everywhere I go,” Kenney said in a statement. “To address these concerns, we have made investing in our streets a priority."

Cleaning up

The impending launch of PickupPHL comes after city officials announced a long-awaited mechanical street cleaning pilot program in April. The pilot targets six neighborhoods, including:

  1. West Philadelphia: Parkside to Lancaster Avenues, 52nd Street to Girard Avenue.

  2. Southwest Philadelphia: Woodland Avenue to Kingsessing Avenue, 49th Street to Cemetery Avenue.

  3. Kensington: Second Street to Frankford Avenue, Tioga Street to Lehigh Avenue.

  4. Strawberry Mansion: Sedgley Street to Lehigh Avenue, 29th Street to 33rd Street.

  5. Logan: Godfrey Avenue to Roosevelt Boulevard, Broad Street to Fifth Street.

  6. South Philadelphia: McKean Street to Oregon Avenue, Fourth to Eighth Streets.

The pilot will run until November, attempting to shed Philly of its “Filthadelphia" reputation by using mechanical-broom cleaning as well as hand-held blowers.