streets

[yassie]

Why can't philly fix the streets??? i work in Jersey and their roads are fixed quickly but in Phila on 3rd st and 2nd it's one hole after another

[Hospitalitygirl]

It's a mystery for the ages...

[mixiboi]

Well to put the apple and oranges of Philly vs "Jersey" on the table: Its easier to fix roads when you have several government bodies that could ALL fix inside of Philly.


Not that we shouldn't be doing better, just that Philly is a lot more complicated then Jersey when it comes ot things(And add on top of that PennDot control a bunch of the roads too)

[Lolly]

Not to mention... Have you seen the taxes in Jersey?

[notatouron]

Exactly. You get what you pay for. In Philadelphia, many property owners are paying three-digit property taxes or not paying their tax bill at all, and the situation is tolerated and even defended by many. That does not get you good government services. The population in New Jersey has among the highest per capita income and education levels in the nation. They make more money, pay higher taxes, demand better public services, and in general they get them. Even in one of their poorest cities the mayor runs into burning buildings to protect his constituents.

[qweezyq]

beyond all that was mentions, a lot of it has to do with the high density in the city. hence more utility work (new laterals etc) more street openings etc. Also, if you saw how many utilities are jammed beneath the roadway, you would be amazed. Makes it harder to get good compaction and also, if there are leaks, greater chance for sink holes.

Its just always a game of catch up for the city.

[RainboTeabagger]

You can fix the pot hole but it will only come back. You have to remember...THIS ISN'T JERSEY! Suburban areas in Jersey have roads that are no older than 50, 60 years old. We have have roads that are over 3 CENTURIES old. We have Belgian blocks and rail lines underneath that concreate. Unless you rip the road about 5 feet down and build a new, no simple "paving" will get the job done.

[mixiboi]

Exactly. You get what you pay for. In Philadelphia, many property owners are paying three-digit property taxes or not paying their tax bill at all, and the situation is tolerated and even defended by many. That does not get you good government services. The population in New Jersey has among the highest per capita income and education levels in the nation. They make more money, pay higher taxes, demand better public services, and in general they get them. Even in one of their poorest cities the mayor runs into burning buildings to protect his constituents.

Well you had good points untill that last one.

If he died, we'd be all calling him stupid and not thinking of his duties for fame whoring....

[notatouron]

That's an effing great comeback. We can always compare and contrast NJ and PH politicians for entertainment. Wilson Goode (senior drops a bomb, gets reelected, we pay the repair bill, not to mention speech lessons on us; junior has hereditary title to office) versus Corzine (show me the money; huh, what money?).

[mixiboi]

Politicians are Politicians....And if you wanted to ding Corzine you should of went after him for his car accident, as that was in office, on taxpayers dime.

[notatouron]

How he handled the money situation speaks volumes about him, regardless of whether he was in office when it happened. Reminds me of Fumo and OPM.

[ArcticSplash]

In the case of my street, there's a creek that sits underneath it, which is why it's so wide (big sewer diversion tunnel in front of my house).

You'd have to dig a lot deeper than just 5 feet to recompact and smooth the road surface so it resembles a suburban surface road. Northern New Jersey, where the density is the same as Philly, has similarly crappy streets. NYC is a lot better but they have loads more money to spend on the problem.

The bigger crime is that surfacing doesn't happen often enough.


I'm not following what Rizzo/Goode have anything to do with this. Streets were just as crappy then.

By the way, don't cite pictures of Philadelphia from the Urban Archives; a lot of those photos actually were taken by road resurfacing contractors many moons ago--so you get a distorted picture of Philadelphia back in time---it makes it seem like all the roads were perfect ages ago.

[mmmgrrrr]

I am here to make the claim that NJ's roads are pretty sh**ty too. Ever tried to drive the length of Rt 70? Your lucky if you make it to the race track without a bent wheel. Rt 42? I don't know how motorcyclists deal with the 6" deep tractor trailer "ruts" and curb height bridge to asphalt transitions. I expect Philly to have somewhat rough streets but suburban NJ?

[mixiboi]

By the way, don't cite pictures of Philadelphia from the Urban Archives; a lot of those photos actually were taken by road resurfacing contractors many moons ago--so you get a distorted picture of Philadelphia back in time---it makes it seem like all the roads were perfect ages ago.

Yeah, there is a reason why most of those pictures prominently feature streets and construction of streets.

[bluecuracao]

I recently put in a follow-up call to the Streets Department, to find out when our street would be repaved (it's in horrible shape. There are about ten potholes and deep crevasses all along just one block, and a crater where a storm drain is caving in). I was told that it was unknown. The person I spoke to said that they get a list every Monday naming the streets they have to fix, and our street wasn't on the list that week.

So, now I wonder...who is in charge of making this weekly list?

[3rd and New]

The Streets Department recently released the 2012 Paving schedule and it includes a number of streets in Old City and Society Hill. If it actually happens is another story...
http://www.philadelphiastreets.com/t...ving_list.aspx

[3rd and New]

The Streets Department recently released the 2012 Paving schedule and it includes a number of streets in Old City and Society Hill. If it actually happens is another story...
http://www.philadelphiastreets.com/t...ving_list.aspx

[bluecuracao]

The Streets Department recently released the 2012 Paving schedule and it includes a number of streets in Old City and Society Hill. If it actually happens is another story...
http://www.philadelphiastreets.com/t...ving_list.aspx

Thanks for the links. Sadly, it looks like the only Old City streets they list as getting repaved this year are Front St. and the number streets running parallel. None of the 'secondary roadways' (like my street), that need repaving/repair just as much, if not more.