Philadelphia awarded $4 million for traffic safety projects

Philadelphia County Delegation    December 8, 2020

HARRISBURG, PA – State Rep. Jason Dawkins, D-Phila., chairman of the Philadelphia House Delegation, announced that Philadelphia will receive $4 million in funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Automated Red Light Enforcement program for traffic safety projects.

The funding is part of more than $8 million being awarded to 10 municipalities for 16 projects across the commonwealth and comes from fines for violations at designated red-light intersections in Philadelphia. Those designated areas have been shown to have a higher rate of red-light running and safety concerns.

“The Red Light Enforcement program funds are made available to help improve traffic safety and are part of the conversation we are having to make transportation funding a priority for Philadelphia,” Dawkins said. “This money is in addition to PennDOT’s current projects that are so important in the city.”

Philadelphia will use the $4 million for the following:

$1.5 million for Broad, Germantown and Erie transportation safety project to:

  • Redesign the intersection of Broad Street, Germantown Avenue and Erie Avenue.
  • Resurface Erie Avenue between Broad Street and Old York Road, including removal of trolley tracks; create space for a sidewalk-level pathway for bicycles; and dedicate spaces for buses at bus stops as well as expanded and accessible passenger facilities.
  • Upgrade signals at Broad and Butler streets as well as Broad and Venango streets.
  • Transform the existing public spaces at the intersection of the park at the nexus of Broad Street, Germantown Avenue and Butler Street, as well as the concrete triangle at Broad Street and Germantown and Erie avenues.

$1 million for a high-quality bicycle network to:

  • Expand and connect the Philadelphia bikeway network to encourage its use for transportation and recreation.
  • Build additional links in the network, add a vertical barrier to bicycle lanes and dedicate space within the roadway for only bicycles.

$1 million for citywide neighborhood slow zones to:

  • Reduce motor vehicle speeds to 25 mph or less, which is the current speed posted in Philadelphia neighborhoods.
  • Implement traffic calming measures with local streets and adjacent arterial streets that experience crashes resulting in deaths and severe injuries. Traffic calming can include a combination of vertical and horizontal deflection among other measures.

$500,000 for citywide intersection modification to:

  • Design and construct at approximately three to four locations citywide a reinforced channelization and pedestrian refuge islands as well as truck aprons on curb extensions to provide traffic calming and accommodate all roadway users. 
  • Improve pavement markings, create signal improvements such as pedestrian countdowns, lead pedestrian intervals and other minor signal improvements.
  • Add LED streetlights.

Projects were selected by an eight-member committee and were based on criteria such as safety benefits and effectiveness, cost, and local and regional impact.