More than a week after nine inches of snow fell on the city, Philadelphia is preparing to expand its cleanup effort as many residents continue to face difficult conditions on neighborhood streets.
In many residential areas, two-way streets have narrowed to a single passable lane, and cars are still trapped behind hardened, frozen piles of plowed snow.
“To tell you the truth, it’s a little bit chaotic,” said Vinicius Silva of Castor Gardens in Northeast Philadelphia. “One of my cars over here, I haven’t been able to get out the whole week.”
In Oxford Circle, some residents expressed concern about what appears to be a large snowdumping operation at the site of the old Fels Junior High.
“What’s going to happen when that melts? Where’s all that snow gonna go? Where’s all that water gonna go?” asked resident Vic Padulese. “Is it gonna flood our houses? Is it gonna break our water pipes?”
The city has already deployed around 1,000 workers for snowstorm response and hopes to accelerate progress in the coming days. Mounds of plowed snow remain stacked at intersections and lining some streets.
“You’ll see piles around the streets start to disappear. We’re focusing on removing those because they present hazards as well,” said Carlton Williams, director of the Office of Clean & Green Initiatives at a news conference Monday.
Mayor Cherelle Parker said Monday that 85 percent of city streets have been treated at least once. She said crews have melted 4.7 million pounds of snow and used 15,000 tons of salt since last week’s storm. To bolster the effort, Parker said the city will be mobilizing more workers on Tuesday.
“We are continuing to move forward until every street is treated from this epic storm,” Parker said. “We will be deploying 300 same-day work and pay workers in residential neighborhoods to help clear more streets and more areas.
In South Philadelphia, parking restrictions on Broad Street between Washington and Oregon will take effect at 7 a.m. Tuesday for a large-scale snowremoval operation.
The city is offering free parking at Lot U near Citizens Bank Park from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday for residents affected by the Broad Street restrictions. All vehicles must be removed by 6 p.m.
City leaders did not provide a timeline for when work city-wide would be completed, but said crews will continue until the job is done.
“We are not resting and stopping until every street in the city of Philadelphia is walkable and drivable,” Parker said.