Landau said she’d also support a ban on natural gas hookups for new construction in the city, as some municipalities have done.
“I understand that saying banning natural gas hookups in new construction would be an affront to PGW, but I’m all on PGW’s side,” Landau said. “Let’s make sure we’re hitting the market in a different way. Let’s grow PGW.”
O’Rourke and Ahmad signaled an openness to such a ban, with Ahmad saying it would require a massive public engagement campaign and O’Rourke wanting to ensure it would not disproportionately impact overburdened communities.
“In governance, especially when we have to make such drastic shifts … we ought to be willing to do things that feel substantively different,” O’Rourke said. “That may mean saying, ‘Hey, let’s put a moratorium on this so we can hard shift the ship’s direction.’”
Young takes a more conservative approach. He said a ban on natural gas hookups in new construction could be a possibility in the future, but that “time will tell.”
“Natural gas is something that we can use to fuel our economy until we are fully at a stage where clean energy is readily abundant,” Young said. “It’s important that we use the cleanest form of fossil fuels as possible until we get there. I think Pennsylvania in particular has the resources to provide opportunities for folks in that arena.”
Transportation
Transportation is a focus for several of the new faces on council.
“I want to push our transit system to be one of the best in the world,” O’Rourke said.
The city’s most recent greenhouse gas inventory showed that planet-warming emissions from transportation — including cars, trucks, buses and planes — were rising. But the incoming members of council want Philadelphians to have low- and no-emissions alternatives that are safe, clean, affordable, and reliable.
O’Rourke wants bike infrastructure expanded in Philly’s majority Black, brown, and low-income neighborhoods. Landau wants to see more traffic-calming measures or other strategies to make walking and biking safer.
Young thinks the city should encourage more Philadelphians to ride SEPTA with tax credits or other incentives.
“We need to ensure that our public transit system has the infrastructure necessary to carry our city into the future with low emissions,” Young said. “I want to get our residents comfortable riding public transportation.”
Ahmad, who drives an electric car, also wants to see more electric vehicle charging stations built.
“I am constantly cautious about, ‘OK, how many miles do I have left? Where am I going to be?’” Ahmad said. “Unlike our gas stations, which are everywhere.”
Illegal dumping
Stopping illegal dumping is another big priority for the four incoming members of City Council.
“Communities are tired and fed up,” Young said. “[Illegal dumping] decreases their quality of life. It’s not safe for our children walking. I think that it’s City Council’s role to provide the resources to really ensure that this type of dumping doesn’t occur in our communities.”
Young and others mentioned the need for more surviellance cameras — which the city already uses — more consistent enforcement, and higher fines.
“Now, it’s just a cost of business for those who are continuing to short dump in our communities,” Young said.
O’Rourke sees illegal dumping as a “magnet” for crime.
“Where violence seems to happen in cities tend to be in the most unkempt areas,” O’Rourke said.
