Streets Department

The Streets Department is the Philadelphia city department that maintains the public right of way and collects household waste. It runs weekly trash and recycling collection, sweeps and cleans streets, plows snow, paves and repairs roads, and operates and maintains traffic signals, street lights and signs. It is a city department, but many of the roads it maintains also connect to state and federal highways managed by PennDOT; see Pennsylvania State Government and Philadelphia.

1 Organization

The department is organized around a Sanitation Division and a Transportation Division, under the Commissioner. Carlton Williams, who previously held senior posts in Streets, Parks and Recreation, and Licenses and Inspections and most recently directed the mayor's Clean and Green initiatives, was named Managing Director effective August 17, 2026.^[1] The City's Department of Streets leadership page lists Kristin Del Rossi, a longtime department employee, as Commissioner. The department's policy direction is coordinated with OTIS.

2 Sanitation and recycling

Trash and recycling are collected from residences and small businesses on assigned days; collection routes and schedules are published on the department site and in the StreetSmartPHL tool, which also shows street sweeping, paving, closures and snow operations.^[2] The department reported that on-time trash collection (completed by 3 p.m.) reached about 97 percent in a 2025-26 period, a level officials called better than in the prior decade or more, even as residents continued to report piled-up trash in some neighborhoods.^[3] The city has also expanded twice-weekly collection in some areas. Illegal dumping and litter enforcement involve the Streets Department, the L&I Quality of Life division and the city's Clean and Green initiatives.

3 Paving, potholes and permits

The Transportation Division paves city streets on a multi-year schedule and fills potholes after reports. Anyone planning work in the right of way, such as a dumpster, scaffolding, sidewalk closure, street opening or utility cut, needs a permit; street closures for block parties also go through the department. Property owners are generally responsible for sidewalk upkeep adjacent to their property. Construction projects frequently also need approval from Water for connections and from L&I for building permits. Traffic-calming and Vision Zero street-design projects are coordinated with the Parking Authority (parking enforcement) and OTIS.

4 Labor and service disruptions

Because sanitation workers are mostly members of District Council 33, the July 2025 strike halted regular trash collection; see 2025 DC 33 Strike. The disruption illustrated how heavily residents depend on this one department and how labor negotiations affect basic services.

5 How to request service or complain

Most requests, including missed collection, potholes, dumping, street light outages and damaged signs, are submitted through Philly311 by phone (311), app or web. Requests receive a tracking number and can be followed online. Persistent problems can be raised with the district Council member; see How to Get Help From the City and How to File a Complaint.

See also: Fleet Services, SEPTA, Managing Director's Office.

References

1. WHYY, "Philadelphia Managing Director Adam Thiel steps down as Parker's administration undergoes staffing shuffle," July 28, 2026; City of Philadelphia biography of Carlton Williams.
2. City of Philadelphia, Streets Department, phila.gov/departments/streets-department (accessed October 2026).
3. CBS News Philadelphia and WHYY coverage of Streets Department trash-collection performance and City Council budget hearings, 2025-2026.