The “Historic Streets Restoration Program” 2018 Meeting Report
The Philadelphia Society of Small Streets (PSSS)
April 7, 2018
The “Historic Streets Restoration Program” meeting was very well attended. Over fifty people took part in the PSSS March 19th meeting at the Old Pine Community Center to learn more about the Historic Streets Restoration Program and discuss their street’s issues. Those present represented historically-certified streets in Society Hill, Washington Square West, South Philly, Northern Liberties, and Fitler Square. Councilman Mark Squilla, Streets Department Chief Engineer Stephen Lorenz, and Kim Chantry of the Philadelphia Historical Commission were there to listen to everyone’s comments and respond to their questions. It was an information-packed 2-hour meeting with good news for some, but continued concerns for others. (See “MEETING REPORT” below.)
PSSS conclusions are 3-fold:
1. The Streets Department needs more funds and training to restore historic streets in a proper and timely manner.
2. The Streets Department should end the use of concrete foundations & Plumbers’ Patches on historic streets.
3. Residents of historic streets should organize their neighbors to lobby Mayor Kenney and City Council.
PSSS will form 3 committees to assist in these efforts:
· Funding Committee
· Construction Committee
· Lobbying Committee
To volunteer, please email LynnLandes@earthlink.net. We are also asking the public to please write to the following city officials to support the timely and proper restoration of Philadelphia’s historic streets. See attached Sample Letter or go to PSSS website: www.SmallStreetsPhilly.org
James.Kenney@phila.gov
(Mayor of Philadelphia)
Mark.Squilla@phila.gov
(Chair of Streets Committee on City Council)
Carlton.Williams@phila.gov
(Streets Commissioner)
Stephen.Lorenz@phila.gov
(Chief Engineer, Historic Streets)
Jon.Farnham@phila.gov
(Executive Director of Philadelphia Historical Commission)
Find your council member (https://phila.legistar.com)
MEETING REPORT
FUNDING
Councilman
Squilla expressed interest in finding more sources of funding for our historic
streets in order to expedite the restoration process. To aid in that effort, we
are forming a committee to work with the councilman and his staff, as well as to
look at both public and private sources of funding. Hopefully, The Preservation
Alliance and other organizations can assist us in these efforts. We may also
want to look at the costs of these restorations, as the concrete foundation that
the Streets Department is currently requiring may be much more expensive than
the 15 inches of modified aggregate that PSSS recommends.
PRIORITY LIST
This year the 300 block of Philip Street is scheduled for restoration. Next year Thomas Paine Place will be restored, due to the fact that the Streets Department won a $1 million dollar grant for its restoration. Streets had applied for a grant to restore Hutchinson Street a couple of years ago, however it was turned down. The reason Thomas Paine Place was awarded a grant this year was probably due to its connection to Dock Street and proximity to The Merchant Exchange, City Tavern, and many other historic locations. Unfortunately, there was no commitment at the meeting from Chief Engineer Stephen Lorenz that the PSSS priority list would be recognized, therefore we need to lobby to that end. See PSSS Priority List at: http://www.smallstreetsphilly.org/PSSSresponse.htm
CAMAC “THE WOOD” STREET: Chief Engineer Stephen Lorenz reported that the Streets Department continues to research the historically accurate wood to use on Camac Street, but made no mention of removing the concrete foundation, which PSSS believes is the cause of why the wood blocks have rotted out at least twice in the past 17 years.
CONSTRUCTION ISSUES:
o
PLUMBERS' PATCHES
Chief Engineer Lorenz continued to assert that the Streets Department was fixing
the patches as fast as possible, despite the fact that many of our historic
streets have been blighted by the same Plumbers’ Patches for years, if not
decades. We believe that we need to lobby Mayor Kenney and City Council to pass
legislation, or change Streets Department policy, to require that Plumbers’
Ditches be immediately restored after excavation, as is currently required of
utilities. Otherwise, all our historic streets, restored and unrestored, will
continue to be blighted by Plumbers’ Patches.
o
CODE
ENFORCEMENT & LIABILITY:
Chief Engineer Lorenz said that he does not require residents to bring their
sidewalks into compliance with the ¼ inch per foot safety standard of the
Streets Department. Although PSSS recognizes that there is a difference between
slightly non-compliant versus grossly non-compliant, we remain very concerned
about the public safety and liability aspects of steep and slippery sidewalks.
A resident at the meeting, who is also an attorney, pointed out that the
‘standard’ is to protect public safety, not an ‘option’ for property owners and
contractors. A comment was also made regarding liability, in that any slips due
to non-compliant sidewalks exposes the homeowner to increased liability, to
which Chief Engineer Lorenz said that he understood that aspect of the issue.
PSSS finds the Chief Engineer’s comments very concerning, as the Streets
Department failure to require compliance results in the follow: 1) it does not
protect public safety, and 2) increases the liability exposure for property
owners and the City of Philadelphia, alike.
o
WORKMANSHIP &
CERTIFICATION:
Many comments were also made regarding the poor quality of workmanship by the
restoration company that worked on American Street last year. In addition,
residents on Quince Street complained of the sub-standard quality of workmanship
by the Streets Department crew on restoring a Plumbers’ Patch on their street.
Chief Engineer Lorenz heard residents’ complaints about the quality of
workmanship of both the restoration contractor and the Streets Department crews,
but offered no reassurance that their workmanship would improve, nor that a
program would be put in place to correct the situation. PSSS supports a 1-day
training program in order to assure the proper restoration of our historic
streets.
Residents also complained about the length of time (many months) it took for the
Streets Department to return to Quince Street to restore a ‘Plumbers’ Patch,
during which the original curbs stones disappeared and had to be replaced by
street gutters that did not match. Chief Engineer Lorenz said that concrete
could not be poured in the middle of winter. It was another example of why
Plumbers’ Ditches should be restored using modified aggregate, not concrete.
His response also did not answer why so many Plumbers’ Patches remain on our
historically-certified streets for years on end.
o Concrete Foundation vs Modified Aggregate or Pulverized Concrete: Chief Engineer Lorenz continued to defend the 8-inch concrete foundation requirement for all historic street restorations as well as Plumbers’ Patches, despite PSSS’s and residents’ arguments to the contrary. Specifically, PSSS supports the Netherlands/European model for street foundations, which uses 15 inches of pulverized concrete (although PSSS recommends modified aggregate for environmental reasons).
Due to time constraints, the remainder of the Agenda was not addressed. For complete Agenda see: http://www.smallstreetsphilly.org/2018HistoricStreetsRestorationMeeting.htm
We want to thank everyone who attended, especially Councilman Mark Squilla, Streets Department Chief Engineer Stephen Lorenz, and Kim Chantry of the Philadelphia Historical Commission. Our common goal is to make our historically-certified streets safe and attractive, but there are some issues to work through, as well as a lot of work to do. So, please organize the residents on your street, join PSSS, volunteer for a committee, and/or write to Mayor Jim Kinney and City Council (see attached). Thank you for your attention and support.
Lynn and Cliff
Landes, Founders
Philadelphia Society of Small Streets (PSSS)
217 S. Jessup
Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107
http://www.smallstreetsphilly.org
http://www.meetup.com/The-Philadelphia-Society-of-Small-Streets-PSSS
LynnLandes@earthlink.net /
215-629-3553
SAMPLE LETTER
Mayor James Kenney
City Hall, Office 215 (date)
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Dear Mayor Kenney and City Council:
Our historically certified streets need your support. The Historic Streets Restoration Program was started in 1999 under Mayor Edward Rendell. Over 300 streets are on the Historic Streets Inventory, yet only a handful of streets have been restored due to budget constraints. Our historically-certified streets need your help now, particularly Quince Street (200 block), the Hutchinson/Manning/Bonaparte (200 block), and Panama Street (2400 block). These incredibly charming streets are in very poor condition, making it difficult for residents to walk or drive on their own streets and for others to pass through.
Many of our most charming historically-certified streets, restored and unrestored, are also blighted by asphalt or concrete “Plumbers’ Patches”. Those unsightly patches can last forever, and rarely are they restored by the Streets Department. We are asking for a change in Streets Department policy or regulation, requiring that Plumbers’ Ditches be properly restored by the contractors immediately after the work is completed (as is currently required by utilities), so that Plumbers’ Patches are never created to begin with.
In addition, the Streets Department requires an 8-inch concrete foundation as part of the restoration of our historic streets (including Plumbers’ Patches), which is in contrast to the Netherlands/European model, which calls for 15 inches of pulverized concrete or modified aggregate. A concrete foundation causes 3 major problems: 1) it is more expensive and time consuming, 2) in order to access underground utilities, it necessitates the need for a jackhammer, which threatens fragile historic buildings and nearby gas, water, and sewer pipes, and 3) it is completely non-porous and prevents any storm water abatement, rotting the wood blocks on Camac Street and creating a mosquito breeding habitat for all other historic streets.
Summing up, Philadelphia’s historically certified streets need:
· Increased funds
· No more Plumbers’ Patches
· Foundations of modified aggregate, rather than concrete
Please help the
Streets Department to properly restore and maintain one of Philadelphia’s most
charming assets and greatest tourist attractions - our historically
certified streets!
________________________________________
(name)