Massive cleanup effort following Eagles championship parade
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There was plenty of cleanup work left to do along the Ben Franklin Parkway on Friday, the day after the Eagles' Super Bowl Championship Parade.
But even though fans left behind a mess requiring a huge cleanup job, members of the Philadelphia Streets Department - many of whom are Eagles fans - weren't complaining.
Crews whipped out a full gamut of tools, from rakes to street sweepers, to leaf blowers, and even a heavy-duty front-end loader.
The amount of trash was nearly overwhelming, and it didn't help that much of it was encased in mud and frozen to the ground.
The items left behind included dozens of folding chairs, coolers, backpacks and blankets. And not surprisingly, there were a lot of empty alcohol bottles and cans.
Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams said 250 employees cleaned up South Broad Street before rush hour Thursday afternoon, then worked on clearing other major roadways.
"We're like the Eagles, we just go to work," he said. "We get in there real quick and, you know, that's our job and business and so our guys are happy to do it."
We saw quite a few piles of trash bags on street corners, but neighbors we spoke with said they're not surprised.
"Honestly I think it's worth all the effort. I mean it's a mess, but it was loads of fun," said Andy Kauffman.
"Trash is kind of gross. I wish I had more trash cans during the celebration, but it was a once and a lifetime event and it was really, really great," said Emily Weiss.
In all it was a sign of a good time had by all.
"Let's hope for another one next year," said Dan Solis, of Center City. "Congratulations to the players and the coaches and the team. They did a great job and united the city."
"This was the better than my marriage, I love my kids but this was better than my kids being born," said Kareem Yates, of West Philadelphia. "I swear. Go Birds!"
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