Philadelphia is the best city in the U.S., hands-down.
But depsite its magnificence, it does have its problems.
One of those problems is Roosevelt Boulevard, a 12-lane highway that runs through the middle of a fairly populous part of the city.
Every year, there are about 700 crashes and 10 traffic fatalities on this single street. A 2001 review by State Farm Insurance found that two of the three most dangerous intersections in the United States are on Roosevelt Boulevard. (source).
In response to the dangerous conditions the Philadelphia Parking Authority started using speed cameras last June at eight intersections along the Boulevard. Between June and February, 700,000 warnings or tickets for speeding were issued to drivers. The cameras seemed to work. In the first month, there were 224,000 speeding violations recorded by the cameras; the number of violations dropped to 16,776 by February. (source)
But the city has even bigger plans. (source)
This past Friday, the city released both short-term and long-term proposals to improve safety for both drivers and pedestrians. Some measures have already been rolled out in the last few years, but there are also other changes that could be in place by 2025, as well as two multi-billion-dollar suggestions to radically transform the 12-lane boulevard by 2040.
Talk about planning ahead.
The proposed changes are part of the Roosevelt Boulevard Route for Change Program, a collective effort by the City of Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and SEPTA first launched in 2016 using federal grant dollars.
The report lays out several goals by 2025, including:
- Changing traffic signal cycle times
- Realigning crosswalks and curb ramps
- Closing sidewalk gaps
- Building curb extensions
- Improving bus stops
- Adding bus-only lanes
- Adding landscaping and art
The report also lays out some goals by 2040, with two plans that could help to accompish such goals.
- The first would be a $1.9 billion “neighborhood boulevard,” while the other would be a much more radical, $10.8 billion “partially capped expressway.”
- The second plan would be a much more radical, a $10.8 billion “partially capped expressway.” This woud enttail part of the highway moving underground.
I don’t know much about the Big Dig project that took place in Boston, but a quick peek at WIkipedia offers perhaps some similarities:
Planning began in 1982, and the project was completed by 2006. It was the most expenisve highway project ever in the U.S. costing, in today’s dollars, about $21.5 billion dollars. Cost oevrruns resulted in the final cost being neearly three times the original estimate.
I’ve driven on the Roosevelet Boulevard before (fortunately not very often), and I will attest to it being a stressful experience.
So I was excited to hear about these plans. I love seeing people, and orgainizations, making long-term plans. While it is hard to imagine what the word will be like twenty years from now, I think it is important to be proactive in such matters, particualrly when such improvements could save lives.
Hopefully, Philadelphia can learn a thing or two from Boston’s Big Dig that will help keep the project on schedule and within budget.
And when it’s all complete, hopefully I’ll be able to take my 2006 Matrix for a drive under the Roosevelt Boulevard.
Perhaps the underground can be named the Sub Rosey Highway, in honor of the Klaatu song Sub Rosa Subway, written in memory of the efforts of Alfred Ely Beach to create the Beach Pneumatic Transit, the New York City Subway’s precursor.
Interesting project. Hopefully it will be a success. To go back to the first part of your post, we’re the tickets and cameras successful in reducing deaths and injuries?
LikeLiked by 1 person
you are such a curious reader! I had the same thought about whether the reduction in tickets lead to a reduction in accidents and fatalities, but I did not see any mention of that in the one article I referenced. Maybe I’ll try to do some digging. You would hope that there was a reduction, since I am sure that is why they put the cameras in palce.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hopefully it is, but if it didn’t it may at least be a source of revenue to help fund some of the changes 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
always looking on the bright side 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Billions of dollars spent on one street? This sounds like a pork barrel project to me. Some folks are going to get very rich off of it, and end up on Easy Street. Meanwhile, more and more debt will rack up for the taxpayer.
LikeLiked by 1 person
and just think of the traffic delays..
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow! I would not want to drive on a 12 lane highway! We have been to Philadelphia several times but I never realized this about Roosevelt Blvd. Now I am curious if my Dad ever drove on it. Will have to ask him.
LikeLike
if you or your Dad have ever been to Northeast Philly, it’s kind of hard to avoid the Boulevard…
LikeLike
I wonder if the reduction in speeding tickets had anything to do with people working from home? Seems like the road itself is not dangerous, but that the people can’t drive to suit the conditions?
LikeLiked by 1 person
the road was not built to handle the volume of traffic that has bult up over the years. Combined with bad driving, it’s a recipe for disaster. And yes – goodpoint about the reduced number of drivers on the road…
LikeLiked by 1 person
The statistics seem to indicate the program is working, but Tandy makes a good point about more people working from home. We flew for the first time since the pandemic began, and there were considerably fewer people in all of the airports we were in. Some of the other goals sound very worthwhile.
LikeLiked by 1 person
that must have felt great to be traveling again. Did you feel ok on the place itself?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I felt safe. Upcoming post on my blog in the next couple of days that will provide more details.
LikeLiked by 1 person
look forward to reading it…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! I drove on The Boulevard everyday for six years. Trust me: it’s a hot, dangerous mess. Revamping it will be worth every penny, and will undoubtedly save lives. 👏🏻
LikeLiked by 1 person
that must have been a terrible commute!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It definitely wore on me toward the end. When I lived in Center City, it was about 35 minutes in the morning, and closer to an hour on the way home. When I moved to West Chester, it was 70 minutes each way. While the Boulevard was only a part of the journey, it certainly added to the stress! 🤪
LikeLiked by 1 person
I feel blessed to have a three-minute commute for the past 35 years; ten minutes on the days where I have enough ambition to walk 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow! Absolutely a blessing! 👏🏻
LikeLiked by 1 person
indeed it is…
LikeLiked by 1 person
wow, that’s quite an initiative. i remember stories of the big dig, and agree, hopefully philly won’t suffer the same fate. i love your name suggestion and hope you 2006 matrix dream comes true.
LikeLiked by 1 person
it will be a race to see who lasts longer, me or my matrix 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have driven on the Roosevelt and I agree it can use all the help it can get. Road work may be a bit disruptive to commuters, but there are fewer of those these days, so it may be less impactful. This sounds like a worthwhile project and I hope they can keep it moving and on budget (or somewhere close).
LikeLiked by 1 person
these things seem to always come in over budget; I guess the question is how much…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I get really frustrated with the glacial speed of change in the world. Driving home from picking up my daughter in Vermont (a 9 – 10 hour endeavor), I commented to my wife that the experience of traveling to Vermont hasn’t really improved in over 50 years. I feel like we should be zipping around in personal hovercrafts by now. And looking forward twenty years, Philly anticipates so much car growth, they need to bury the highway. Where is the promise of the future?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t mind long drives, but two 9-10 hour drives over the course of a couple of days is a bit much. I wonder if I’ll live long enough to see lots of people flying in their own airplanes
LikeLiked by 1 person
Long range planning is good. But like you say, who knows what the world will be like in 20 years.
LikeLiked by 1 person
my goal in twent years is to live somewhere where I can walk to everything I need…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thats a way to get great exercise!
LikeLike
👍
LikeLike
My goal is to never drive on a 12 lane highway and for your blog to allow me to comment again! I feel like I been “suspended” by the teacher. LOL!
LikeLike
And the 12-lane highway goes right through a heavily populated part fo the city! Let’s hope that moving forward your comments start working correctly!
LikeLike
Yes, lets hope! I will cross my fingers!
LikeLiked by 1 person
🤞
LikeLike
I would never want to drive on a 12 lane highway! No way! Give me a back country road!
LikeLike
👍
LikeLike
I would never want to drive on a 12 lane highway!! Give me a back country road! 🙂
LikeLike
yes, I prefer the back roads myself…
LikeLike
I would never want to drive on a 12 lane highway! I would lose my sanity for sure!
LikeLike
👍
LikeLike
I would totally lose my sanity if I had to drive on a 12 lane highway!
LikeLike
with lots of redlights and pedestrians and buses!
LikeLike
“smacking my head!”
LikeLike
always my favorite comment… 🙂
LikeLike
Wow that looks like our busiest highway here lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
is your highway safe?
LikeLiked by 1 person
As safe as any highway can be I suppose 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so cool to hear about cities in the USA, a place that I might not be able to visit in this lifetime due to geographical, financial, and pandemic reasons. Thanks for sharing this, Jim!
LikeLike
It seems that a lot of companies are moving towards their employees continuing to work from home to a much larger extent going forward so maybe there will be less traffic anyway.
LikeLiked by 1 person
you’re right, that should help with the traffic…
LikeLike
Automated traffic enforcement is a way to fleece money from safe drivers for profit, with poor engineering and predatory ticketing. Many errors too. Pull up the National Motorists Association.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jim, your discussion takes back a few years ago with the use of Red Light Cameras at certain busy, dangerous intersections. They were quite effective in reducing accidents. Then the City of Columbus lost in court because this awesome technology shouldn’t be issuing tickets to motorists for running red lights. Only uniformed officers can witness these infractions and write tickets.
LikeLiked by 1 person
that doesn’t make sense to me; if it was effective, then it seems like they should have stuck with it.
LikeLike