The Hub 6/3/2022: Clean Air Council’s Weekly Round-up of Transportation News.
Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY). Image Source: PlanPhilly
“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up-to-date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.
PlanPhilly: Latest Wrench In The Plan To Narrow Washington Ave. Has Some Cheering, Others Fuming – Washington Avenue’s redesign faces yet another roadblock as Councilmember Johnson wants to keep the roadway as a five-lane road through his district and refused to introduce parking legislation that would facilitate narrowing the roadway. But advocates like Feet First Philly, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, and other groups are calling on the mayor to make Washington Avenue safer for everyone and to move ahead with the narrowing of the roadway.
AP News: Rising US Traffic Deaths Put Focus On One Philadelphia Road – Roosevelt Boulevard also called the “corridor of death” by some residents and safety advocates has been stained with traffic fatalities for years. Multiple families lost loved ones on this roadway. The City of Philadelphia is hoping for Federal dollars to start redesign of the Boulevard as outlined in a 2019 study. Two design options for the Boulevard are making center lanes a restricted expressway or reducing speed limit and converting car lanes to bicycle and transit lanes.
TheCityFix: 6 Ways To Design Safer School Zones: Lessons From Mumbai – Safe access to schools is very important, thus if cities are designed to increase the safety of children then it will be safer for everyone. Six ways to improve safety in school zones based on a study done in Mumbai includes:
- Delineation of school zones
- Road markings and signage
- Vibrant pedestrian crossings
- Bulb-Outs – to reduce crossing distance
- Speed calming measures
- Informative footpaths
This study also concluded that 93% of children felt the street was more accessible and safer with these improvements.
Transportation Today: FTA Make Available $13M In Competitive Transit Grants – The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) pilot program for Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Planning supports comprehensive or site-specific planning projects that will combat climate change and also promote equitable delivery of benefits to vulnerable communities. Applicants for this grant must be existing FTA recipients and applications are July 25th.
Route Fifty: Pedestrian Fatalities Are Surging. Here Are Strategies To Bring Them Down – Traffic fatalities declined steadily between 1966 and 2019, but since the pandemic traffic fatalities surged nationwide. Distracted driving, driving under the influence, and speeding are contributing factors. Strategies to reduce traffic fatalities nationwide include:
- Reducing speed limits in all neighborhoods
- Improving street designs and install traffic calming measures
- Improving pedestrian crossings, along with proper signage and lighting.
Image Source: PlanPhilly
