SUMMARY OF THE ISSUES Briefly

Philadelphia has had a historic street district restoration program (Philadelphia Historic Street Paving Thematic District) since 1999, but thus far, less that 15 'small' streets have been restored under this program. That is an extremely small number considering that there are over 300 streets on the restoration list. As a result, some of Philadelphia's small historically designated streets are now very unsafe streets for pedestrians and vehicles alike. In particular, since 2015 PSSS has asked city officials to restore the following streets due to their historic importance and popularity, yet seriously “unsafe” condition:

- 200 block of S. Quince Street
- 2400 block of Panama Street
- 200 block of S. Hutchinson Street, plus intersecting Manning Street and Bonaparte Court

GOOD NEWS! PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 22, 2024 – Today, state Rep. Ben Waxman, D-Phila., announced that a state grant worth more than $1.4 million is coming to Center City for the rehabilitation of five streets in the Washington Square West Historic District.The streets that will be the recipients of this rehab include sections of Quince, Irving, Manning, Hutchinson and Bonaparte. https://www.pahouse.com/Waxman/InTheNews/NewsRelease/?id=135254

The harsh reality is this - the Streets Department is too often choosing not to restore historic streets because they are more costly to resurface than asphalt streets. That fact will never change, so what does it mean for the future of the program? It means that we need to pressure the Mayor and City Council to support this program. We should point out that restoring historic streets does not have to be as expensive as it is. Much of the increased cost is because the Streets Department requires an 8-12" concrete foundation under these historic cartways, something that PSSS has opposed for a variety of reasons (see below). State funds have been made available for the restoration of large historic streets, but usually not for Philadelphia's small streets. Under the present circumstances, our advice to residents is to organize your own campaign to restore your street: call, email, write lots of letters, do petitions, and ask for meetings with the list of government officials below. We will assist you as much as possible. However, it is up to you to be persistent in the pursuit of the restoration of your own small historic streets.

Our biggest issue is Historic Street Foundations. We have serious objections to the manner in which these historic streets are restored, particularly the use of concrete foundations. Historic streets were originally designed to be easy to repair, in that street crews could picked up the pavers, do the repairs, and place the pavers back down again. However, in modern times the city began requiring several inches of concrete under our historic streets, which has caused a myriad of serious problems: 1) Concrete foundations require the use of jackhammers when underground plumbing and other utilities need to be replaced, which can result in damage to nearby homes and buildings, both historic and modern. 2) Concrete foundations obscure natural subsidence, which has resulted in catastrophic collapses. 3) Concrete foundations prevent permeability, increasing storm water run-off, and encourage mosquito infestations, plus cause structural damage to the street components, such as gutter stones, due to the lack of "give" in the street or flexibility and other issues. Instead, city code should require "modified aggregate and screening" for street foundations and filler, as they do in Europe and other places.

We have several "historic street" issues that we work on with Councilman Mark Squilla (former Chair of the Street Committee), the Streets Department and the Historical Commission. In order to be on the list for the Philadelphia Historic Street Paving Thematic District, the street must not be paved over. Here is also a map of the historic streets. PSSS does not limit our activities to designated streets only. We will support efforts to reclaim paved historic streets, as well. In fact, the Streets Department has indicated that it will consider approving plans to restore asphalted streets if the costs are covered privately. Below are lots of links and information. Please take the time to review them. We greatly appreciate your participation, comments, and questions. The more people get involved, the more we can accomplish.