Indeed, he said, the inspections showed that 72 percent of streets are "acceptably clean."

In 1976, 72 percent of the city's streets were acceptably clean.

Visitors can already find acceptably clean bathrooms, a rarity in the city.

In March 1996, only 21.7 percent of the district's streets were judged acceptably clean, she said.

In 1974, when the grading system started, 76.6 percent of streets studied were "acceptably clean."

In the month just past, 75.5 percent were "acceptably clean."

In November, 37 percent of the neighborhood's streets were judged acceptably clean.

"We are shooting for, as a first step, an average 50 percent of the streets acceptably clean," he said.

A designation of "acceptably clean" requires a rating under 1.5.

Over all, more than 85 percent of the city's streets and sidewalks were considered acceptably clean, the city concluded.