Two years after a contentious traffic calming project was completed on Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia, city officials report that the changes are yielding positive outcomes.
An analysis conducted for the city indicates a notable increase in pedestrian and bicycle activity along the corridor, a primary goal of the initiative.
Jackie Weidman, district manager for South Philly in the city’s Office of Multimodal Planning, expressed satisfaction with the results, stating, “We have achieved the goals that we set out to [achieve] for this project.”
However, the project, which included roadway repaving and the implementation of traffic calming measures, has not been without its criticisms.
City officials observed a slight increase in travel times along Washington Avenue, attributing this to various unrelated factors.
It remains too early to assess the project’s impact on traffic collisions along the route, but the initiative was designed with safety in mind since Washington Avenue is part of the city’s “high injury network,” where traffic-related deaths and serious injuries are disproportionately high.
The initial plan proposed a comprehensive road diet for the entire avenue but was modified due to pushback from local stakeholders, leading to a reduction from a five-lane road to three and four lanes only in the section east of Broad Street.
Opponents were particularly concerned that a road diet would lead to increased congestion on Washington Avenue, which could push large trucks onto nearby residential streets.
To address community concerns, the city engaged with residents, businesses, and advocacy groups throughout the planning process.
The recent evaluation found that during peak morning travel times, bike volumes increased significantly, particularly on blocks east of Broad Street where separated bike lanes have been implemented.
Pedestrian volumes likewise saw a modest overall increase, though they dipped slightly on Saturdays.
Weidman noted the enhancements in speeding and multimodal transportation, especially on the eastern side of Broad Street, highlighting the success of the project in those areas.
Interestingly, vehicle traffic along Washington Avenue during peak times has decreased when compared to pre-project levels.
This decline, which the city reports started in the year following the project’s implementation, aligns with broader trends identified post-COVID-19 pandemic—many individuals are no longer commuting to work on a daily basis, leading to shifted traffic patterns.
Weidman commented on this change, stating, “We’re comparing pre-pandemic data with post-pandemic data, so a lot of trends have changed.
Less people [are] commuting into work every day.
The times where there’s more traffic have shifted.”
The analysis also examined parallel streets such as Christian, Ellsworth, Carpenter, and Federal.
While traffic volumes remained relatively stable on these streets, variations were observed—traffic increased on Christian Street but decreased on Ellsworth and Broad during peak hours.
Furthermore, the review revealed that traffic on Washington Avenue is now moving slightly slower than it was prior to the project.
Travel times have extended by approximately two minutes during peak times in both the westbound and eastbound directions on Saturdays.
Officials believe this delay is not a direct result of the road diet but stems from persistent backups at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Broad Street, where unrelated signal modifications and increased commercial and residential activities have contributed to congestion.
Weidman emphasized the significant changes at this busy intersection, stating, “That intersection has grown and changed so much.
It is backing people up a little bit.”
Isolating the changes in travel patterns purely attributed to road modifications is challenging due to various multifaceted factors influencing behavior.
In addition to the pandemic’s impact, the landscape along Washington Avenue has seen a surge in business and residential developments, further influencing how people traverse the area.
“There was a substantial redesign east of Broad [Street].
It was a road diet — that’s a big change in the roadway, so that’s definitely the contributing factor,” Weidman noted, while acknowledging the various elements at play.
Next year serves as a critical point for evaluation as officials plan to assess the project’s effect on crash data.
According to Weidman, analyzing three years of crash data is essential to gauge the project’s safety implications effectively.
“You need enough of that data to really definitively say what’s happening,” she stressed.
image source from：https://whyy.org/articles/washington-avenue-philadelphia-traffic-project/
