Bit of a strange story for you, dear PhillyClout readers.
City Councilman Frank Rizzo said he was driving on Paper Mill Road near Route 73 in Springfield Township earlier this week when he spotted a stretch of construction work that was being done on a sidewalk.
This is notable for one reason: the construction area was blocked off with barricades that belonged to the Philadelphia Streets Department. Rizzo knew as much because the words, "Phila Streets Hwys," were clearly stamped on the white-and-orange barricades.
What the?
Stephen Buckley, the Streets Department's Deputy Commissioner for Transportation, said a flurry of phone calls were made to Springfield Township after Rizzo showed the Streets Department photos of the barricades.
Buckley said the Streets Department was told their barricades -- which were brand-new -- had been recently found "orphaned" somewhere in Springfield Township. The township stored the barricades at their maintenance yard, and lent them out to a construction company that was doing work on Paper Mill Road.
Buckley said the city picked up "five or six" of their barricades from the township yesterday.
"It's not uncommon for us to have our stuff stolen," he said. "We asked them, as an adjacent municipality, that if they come upon stuff that clearly says it's ours, to let us know as a courtesy."