City Receives $7.3 Million Investment from PennDOT to Fund Multiple Pedestrian Safety Improvement Projects

Funding will enhance access to infrastructure through new crosswalks, sidewalks, and paths plus improved traffic safety education programs for K-5 students

PHILADELPHIA - The City of Philadelphia has been awarded approximately $7.3 million in funding from the Shapiro Administration and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to improve community infrastructure and enhance pedestrian accessibility.

These investments were made possible through the Surface Transportation Block Grant program Set-Aside, also known as the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside (TA Set-Aside). The funded projects will improve the accessibility of biking and walking paths and amenities, pedestrian access to public transportation, community improvement activities, environmental mitigation projects, and trails. Additionally, awards include safe routes to school (SRTS) projects designed to create and improve alternative access to schools via new crosswalks, sidewalks, and walking paths.

"We are proud to secure these grants which will fund infrastructure upgrades and enhance pedestrian safety around our city - creating a safer Philadelphia for all," said Mike Carroll, Deputy Managing Director for the City's Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS). "These projects will allow for better connectivity to public transit and trail networks that pedestrians and cyclists use to commute or enjoy recreationally. Better pedestrian transportation networks allow for a cleaner, greener, and safer Philadelphia with improved economic opportunities for all citizens, regardless of vehicle ownership."

The City's Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS) will receive:

• $1,250,000to add speed cushions, bump outs, and other traffic calming devices in the area surrounding Logan Elementary, by the intersection of Belfield and Ogontz avenues.
• $1,000,000to add traffic signals and marked crosswalks at Woodlands Driveway and Chester Ave. It will also construct a sidewalk-level two-way cycle track on the south side of Woodland Avenue, and reconstruct broken, uneven sidewalks along both sides of Woodland Ave. This project closes 41st Street between Chester and Woodland to create a pedestrian plaza. Finally, the project will incorporate a dedicated bus layover space and transit priority design to improve SEPTA operations.
  • The City received $500,000for this project in a prior TASA round of funding bringing the total to $1.5 million.

• $1,500,000to build a connecting section of the Cobbs Creek Trail at Island Avenue and Wheeler Street to Eastwick Park at 80th Street.

• $500,000to install bus bump outs (a.k.a. "boarding bulbs") at an estimated 10 bus stops on S. 7th and 8th Streets. These bump outs will prevent illegal parking in the bus stop, making the stops accessible for people with limited mobility, and improve both the reliability of buses on the corridor and the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users.
  • The City received $1,000,000for this project in a prior round of funding bringing the total to $1.5 million.

• $300,000for the Safe Routes Philly program, which provides educators traffic safety curriculum for K-5 students, and educational tools for parents and caregivers. The new curriculum in this project will be designed specifically for special education students, their teachers, and families. The School District of Philadelphia provides special education services to 35,177 students-or about 18% of total enrollment. The project will prioritize locations using a School Stress Index to target schools with a higher concentration of youth pedestrian crashes, health disparities, and other social demographic factors that affect whether students will walk or bike to school.
• $1,500,000to create safety improvements along Torresdale Avenue between Adams Avenue and Worrell Street, such as upgrading the Worrell Street intersection and including physical separation to the bicycle lane. These improvements upgrade the connection to the existing side path that connects this corridor to the East Coast Greenway. This project will extend the reach of physical traffic separated protection into a community of high equity concern.
• $1,255,500to reconstruct the asphalt trail on the west side of Belmont Avenue between Montgomery Drive and Edgely Drive. This will create a safe, attractive connection for people walking and people riding bikes in and through Fairmount Park West. The reconstructed, upgraded trail will provide access to numerous cultural, historical, community, and recreational attractions and amenities for residents and visitors.

According to PennDOT, there were 137 applications submitted during this funding round, requesting over $165 million. Selections were made based on established criteria such as safety benefits, cost-effectiveness, readiness for implementation, impact on low-income or minority communities, statewide or regional significance, integration of land use and transportation decision making, collaboration with stakeholders, and leveraging of other projects or funding.

Applications were reviewed by representatives from PennDOT, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations.

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