Would you like to see staggered left turn signals at intersections along Roosevelt Boulevard? How about more South Jersey-style roundabouts? Would dedicated SEPTA bus and bicycle lanes improve traffic flow? Would more elevated pedestrian crosswalks make it safer?
Whether you agree or disagree with any of these ideas, the city’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems — OTIS for short — wants to hear your opinions as part of its three-year, $5 million Route for Change program.
The program is a comprehensive study of the Boulevard that local officials hope will foster the kind of fundamental changes long needed for a road recognized statistically and anecdotally as one of the most dangerous in the nation.
In a series of three public meetings held last week, the transportation experts floated a multitude of ideas for mitigating several key problems with the Boulevard such as left turn configurations, public transit access and pedestrian and bicycle connectivity. During each meeting, attendees were split into working groups of five or six, then asked to comment on each of the potential improvements.
The exercise wasn’t meant to produce an immediate consensus. Rather, organizers seek to use public feedback in preparing long-term recommendations for the road. They plan to publish a final report in early 2019.
About 40 guests showed up for an Oct. 25 session at the Plumbers Local 690 hall on Southampton Road. Ensuing sessions were held on Oct. 26 at the Regal Ballroom in Oxford Circle and on Oct. 27 at Little Flower High School in Hunting Park.
The study area covers 14 miles of the Boulevard from Broad Street to Neshaminy Mall in Lower Bucks County. Also known as U.S. Route 1, it is perhaps unlike any other stretch of highway in the nation with its 12 lanes of vehicle traffic divided by three grassy median strips and interrupted by dozens of traffic lights, cross streets, pedestrian crossings and bus stops. The road serves about 90,000 vehicles a day including cars, commercial trucks and buses.
From 2010 through ’14, there were about 3,200 vehicle crashes reported on the road, said OTIS project manager Angie Dixon. The accidents were pretty much spread throughout the 14 miles. Thirty-one percent occurred between Broad and Pratt streets, while 33 percent occurred between Pratt Street and Pennypack Park. Twenty-six percent occurred between the park and the Philadelphia-Bucks county line (at Poquessing Creek), while 10 percent occurred north of the Poquessing.
Echoing decades-old studies, the latest data shows that the most dangerous intersections on the Boulevard are the crossings at Grant Avenue and Red Lion Road. There were 174 crashes reported at Grant, with 95 crashes at Red Lion during those years. In addition, there were 90 at Harbison Avenue and 82 at F Street. In 2001, State Farm Insurance named the Red Lion first and the Grant intersection second on its list of the nation’s worst intersections.
Anecdotally, left turns seem to be a big part of the problem. Vehicles routinely stack up on crossing streets and become stranded in the middle of the intersections. When motorists traveling in opposite directions all want to turn left at the same time, they tend to block each other’s paths. The resulting gridlock snowballs with each cycle of the traffic light.
During last week’s meetings, organizers asked what attendees thought of staggering left turns with “split phase” signalling. In other words, eastbound and westbound vehicles wouldn’t be allowed to turn left at the same time. Green light times would have to be reduced in all directions to accommodate the configuration, but the people seemed to like the idea anyway.
Other suggestions included using roundabouts at problem intersections and to install grade-separated interchanges like those already in use at Oxford Circle, Cottman Avenue and Pennypack Circle. Both of those would require costly and time-consuming construction.
For bicycle safety, the meeting hosts showed a variety of protected and dedicated bike lane configurations. In its current state, the Boulevard has no bicycle accommodations. Bob Previdi, policy coordinator for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, attended the meeting as an observer but did not participate in the group discussions or comment on specific proposals.
The Route for Change project is also examining the strained connection between SEPTA buses and pedestrians. According to Dixon, a bus typically takes 45 minutes to travel the length of the study area, which is twice as long as it takes a private car. Transportation officials hope to make bus travel more efficient and easier to access. Improvements might include dedicated bus lanes, better bus stops and safer pedestrian walkways.
Last week’s gatherings constituted the second round of public meetings in Route for Change following five introductory gatherings held over eight days last April. About 150 people attended those open house sessions and offered hundreds of issue-specific comments, Dixon said.
Looking ahead, OTIS plans to hold a third series of public meetings next spring or summer. Dates and locations have not been determined. According to the project website RooseveltBlvd.com, officials will use those meetings to present some shorter-term or “interim year” alternatives for improving the highway. In spring 2018, they want to hold more public meetings to review long-range alternatives, followed by more open houses in late summer or fall 2018.
The $5 million program is funded by a $2.5 million U.S. Department of Transportation TIGER grant, as well as matching funding from the city, SEPTA and Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. ••
