HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation announced it will invest $13 million through the state’s Automated Speed Enforcement program to fund six major traffic safety projects across the City of Philadelphia, expanding efforts to curb dangerous driving and reinvest fine revenue into roadway improvements.
The funding builds on nearly $49.7 million invested in traffic safety initiatives since Governor Josh Shapiro took office, according to PennDOT.
“Dangerous driver behavior — like speeding — makes everyone on the road less safe,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said. “This program aims to discourage speeding and change people’s behavior, and invest those funds back in the community, in projects that help keep everyone safe.”
Pennsylvania’s ASE program was first authorized under Act 86 of 2018 as a pilot initiative along Roosevelt Boulevard (U.S. Route 1) between Ninth Street and the Bucks County line. Act 38 of 2023 made the program permanent and expanded enforcement authority to as many as five additional corridors in Philadelphia. The Philadelphia Parking Authority administers enforcement operations, while PennDOT oversees a Transportation Enhancement Grants Program funded by ASE fines.
The newly approved projects include:
- $500,000 to expand automated speed enforcement cameras onto newly identified corridors and school zones.
- $1.5 million for Highway Safety Improvement Program pre-development work, including traffic signal upgrades, crosswalk markings, lane modifications, and intersection redesign planning to reduce speeding and aggressive driving.
- $5 million for multimodal transportation and safety improvements, including curb extensions, concrete medians, bus bump-outs, pedestrian refuge islands, bicycle facilities, crosswalks, and pedestrian-scale lighting. Targeted corridors include Frankford Avenue from Tyson Avenue to Sheffield Avenue; 52nd Street from Arch Street to Pine Street; Hunting Park Avenue from Old York Road to 15th Street; and Germantown Avenue from Indiana Avenue to Venango Street.
- $2 million to design and construct traffic-calming improvements at intersections aimed at reducing pedestrian-vehicle conflicts and shortening crossing distances.
- $2 million to design intersection modifications along Torresdale Avenue between Robbins Street and Cottman Avenue and along Rising Sun Avenue from Chew Street to St. Vincent Street. Planned upgrades include bus boarding islands, pavement markings, signage, and related sidewalk and stormwater adjustments.
- $2 million to install traffic-calming measures such as speed humps and speed slots along Lincoln Drive from Kelly Drive to Wayne Avenue and at 100 school locations citywide.
Officials say the investments are intended to reduce crash severity, protect pedestrians and cyclists, improve transit efficiency, and enhance air quality.
The ASE program relies on fines collected from speed violations detected by automated cameras. Under state law, the revenue must be reinvested into transportation safety enhancements rather than general government spending.
With expansion now underway, state transportation leaders argue that enforcement combined with infrastructure redesign represents a sustained effort to change driver behavior — and reshape some of Philadelphia’s most dangerous corridors.
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