PHILADELPHIA – City officials announced details for the next phase of the Washington Avenue Repaving and Improvement Project which involves repaving and restriping the road from Grays Ferry Avenue to 4th Street. Additionally, the lanes on the east of Broad Street will be re-configured to fit additional traffic safety improvements later this year.
“For years, the Administration has worked with Council, advocates, and neighbors to make Washington Avenue safer and more accessible for all,” said Deputy Managing Director for Transportation Mike Carroll. “We have and will always remain committed to fair and thorough engagement processes to ensure we engage highly impacted and involved groups as well as every community and every neighborhood we serve.”
However, the City had envisioned greater safety improvements to be implemented in 2022 with the paving.
Parking and Loading Legislation
The Washington Avenue project was designed comprehensively with each element integral to an overall design to improve safety and support a healthy business corridor. The City’s analysis has shown the need for increased parking and loading options to maintain a consistent flow of people in vehicles, including people taking the bus.
The necessary legislation was provided to Councilmembers Johnson and Squilla for their consideration and passage.
“We thank Councilmember Squilla for the introduction of parking and loading legislation within the first council district and are disappointed that Councilmember Johnson did not introduce the necessary legislation to support the layout changes and traffic calming improvements for the second district,” added Carroll.
Without the necessary legislation passing for the full corridor, the March 1, 2022 proposal or “mix-lane layout” project will now be implemented from 4th to 11th Streets and include limited improvements with pavement markings stretching to 16th Street.
Installing Additional Traffic Calming Measures
Signal improvements and other traffic calming measures all need some level of design prior to implementation. All of those elements were designed, prioritized for and justified for funding based on the cross-section and traffic patterns proposed in the mix-lane layout.
If that concept and cross-section are not implemented, the existing designs for Washington Avenue do not simply fit in the current five-lane cross section and the prioritization and justifications for measures to address traffic diversion are not the same.
The following are the traffic safety improvements that will be implemented from 4th Street to 11th Street on Washington Avenue:
Road diet with shorter pedestrian crossings
Protected bike lane
Speed cushions and speed slots
Soft rumble strips
Corner wedges
Hardened centerlines at select locations
Automated red-light cameras
Bus boarding islands
PPA enforcement of loading and parking zones
Traffic calming can still happen on Washington Avenue west of Broad Street, but the process would need to be restarted and re-prioritized based on the five-lane context.
Washington Avenue remains in the queue for Red Light Enforcement Cameras and LED Street lighting upgrades.
Repaving
Repaving will begin on Washington Avenue at the end of July, 2022. Restriping will start in early August and the entire corridor should be fully paved by mid-August.
Additional improvements will be installed within the first district this Fall 2022. OTIS will continue to explore what additional pedestrian improvements can be installed in the second district.
While the Streets Department will make every effort to minimize disruption to traffic, residents are urged to plan ahead and use alternative routes when traveling in these areas.
Residents and businesses can stay up to date on the progress of their street using the PavePHL tool on the StreetSmartPHL.phila.gov platform. For more information on the City’s Paving Program, visit phila.gov/paving.
In addition to Washington Avenue, the City is working on many street improvement projects to create a roadway system that everyone feels comfortable traveling along, no matter their mode of transportation. Vision Zero is a challenging goal but a goal worth pursuing because all Philadelphians deserve safer streets.
