Making Washington Avenue Safer Information Session

Making Washington Avenue Safer Information Session

September 1, 2015

On Thursday, September 3rd at 6pm, the Streets Department and Mayor’s Office of Transportation & Utilities is hosting a public meeting at The Rock School for Dance Education at 1100 South Broad Street, to discuss how to make Washington Avenue safer.This page provides background on the project and a description of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia’s goals.

Current Conditions

Washington Avenue is a major arterial through South Philadelphia, with mostly small businesses and residences on the east side of Broad Street; contractor material distributors and auto supplies/body shops on the west side.

·  Faded pavement markings compromise safety;

·  Lack of enforcement has bred a culture of illegal parking within the turn lane, loading zones, in the bike lanes and on sidewalks;

·  Wide pedestrian crossings make the street uncomfortable and unsafe for pedestrians

·  The bike lane has a significant gap between 7th and 11th Streets, which is where bicycle crashes are concentrated.

·  U.S. Census Bureau found that bicycle commuting rates for census tracts around Washington Ave are much higher than the city-wide average of 2.1%.

o  Broad to 6th Census Tract: 15.4%

o  Broad to 21st Census Tract: 12.5%

o  21st to Grays Ferry Census Tract: 7.9%

o  Broad to Columbus Census Tract: 7%

Crashes Are a Problem

·  On average, 327 crashes occurred annually on the corridor between 2010-2014

·  These crashes killed four people and injured 234 persons.

·  Most bike crashes are concentrated around the bike lane gap between 11th and 7th

·  Based on data from 2010-2013, Washington Avenue experiences:

·  6 crashes a week

·  1 crash every 10 days that involves an injury or a car requiring towing

·  1 crash every 3 weeks injuring a pedestrian or bicyclist

Elements of a Safer Washington Avenue

There are a number of proven techniques that the Bicycle Coalition wants the Streets Department striping plan to incorporate. They include basic safety measures, such as enforcement, better pedestrian crossings and safer bike lanes.

Shorter distances for pedestrian crossings

·  Pedestrian islands in the middle of the intersections with one way streets to shorten crossing distance for pedestrians.

Safer and contiguous bike lanes

·  Buffered bike lanes to protect cyclists from the door zone

·  Make the bike lane contiguous for the entire length of the corridor

Enforcement of illegal parking

·  Better signage of parking and loading restrictions

·  PPD and PPA should increase and consistently enforce parking regulations

Complete in 2015

·  Philadelphians who live by, work on, or use Washington Avenue have waited long enough for a safer street. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia wants the Streets Department and City Council to work together to ensure that the re-stripping of a safer pavement marking plan is completed by the end of Fall 2015.