Residents of the 6th Councilmanic District will be permitted to place their trash out for collection two hours earlier for the next four months as part of a pilot program.
City Councilman Bobby Henon planned to introduce legislation allowing all city residents to be able to place their trash outside at 5 p.m., rather than 7 p.m., in the months when daylight-saving time is not in effect.
However, after discussions with Clarena Tolson, commissioner of the Department of Streets, an agreement was made to implement the pilot program. It is largely based on safety, particularly for senior citizens.
“It’s for every resident, but there are a lot of seniors in the district,” Henon explained. “They run all their errands in the daytime. It’s getting dark earlier, and a lot of times, they don’t feel comfortable coming out in the dark.”
The program will run from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28. It is open to residents of the 6th district based on the redistricting maps passed by City Council in September 2011. Those maps won’t officially change for other city business until the 2015 election season.
During the trial period, the streets department will determine whether the program is working well or if there are problems of any kind.
Henon plans to make robo-calls to eligible households to alert them about the initiative.
To find out if you are eligible for the program, go to seventy.org, click “Find Your Elected Officials” and type your address in the box. If Henon’s name appears, you are eligible. Or, call Henon’s offices at City Hall at 215–686–3444 or 6730 Torresdale Ave. at 215–683–9220.
Daylight savings time ends on Sunday, Nov. 4, at 2 a.m. At that time, clocks should be turned back by one hour. ••
