PHILADELPHIA, PA – In an attempt to increase safety for all modes of transportation, Philadelphia’s Department of Streets has overhauled its traffic calming request procedure. This latest move, designed to offer a superior user experience, provides a more streamlined review and implementation process that makes the most out of City resources.
For countless years, the residents of the city have found the request process daunting, inhibiting its potential to make Philadelphia’s streets safer. As Carlton Williams, the Director of Clean and Green Initiatives noted, the Department of Streets had gathered feedback from the citizens and sought the best possible way to leverage available City resources to enhance this process. This initiative should reduce speeding and minimize accidents to the greatest extent possible, in line with Mayor Parker’s vision of a safer Philadelphia.
The City staff, including members from the Streets Department and the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS), collaborated with a consulting team to examine data from diverse sources, thereby evaluating the program’s efficacy.
Now, residents can access an online map to determine eligibility. Traffic calming requests can be submitted through Philly311 via an online request page, the mobile app, or by calling 311. This new automated process keeps applicants updated through occasional emails about the status of their request.
The updated program has made previously ineligible streets eligible for traffic calming measures. For instance, compact neighborhood arterials and shorter blocks can now receive speed cushions, which were earlier reserved for blocks larger than 1,000 feet between stop signs or traffic signals. The revised parameters now only require blocks to be longer than 400 feet.
Each request is scored based on safety data, pedestrian activity near community areas, and equity data upon receipt, ensuring that resources are directed where most required. High-scoring requests are then reviewed by the City. If the request clears the preliminary review, the requestor must gather a petition signed by at least 60 percent of the residents on the block.
Traffic calming treatments are devised and installed once this is achieved. The Department will review requests about three times a year, and eligible requests that are not immediately prioritized remain in the system for three evaluation cycles.
Although state-owned roadways and larger City arterial roadways are not part of this program due to their need for comprehensive analysis and coordination, this new system promises to make Philadelphia’s streets safer and more accessible for all.
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