June 2025 Newsletter

Program Updates

2025-2030 Action Plan Development

We need your support (yes, you!)  to write a plan that keeps our Vision Zero actions focused on community priorities. The Vision Zero Action Plan 2025-2030 is being updated this year and is set to be completed by October 31, 2025. The Vision Zero team is updating the action items that guide our efforts and set our priorities. Each month this year, we are featuring either a program that advances the goals of the Vision Zero Action Plan or the progress being made on Action Plan development. This month, we are featuring our Safer Streets strategies.

Since the beginning of this year, we have been collecting feedback on community needs and priorities through surveys, pop-up events, and in-person roundtable sessions. Your input is still needed! The survey will close on June 30 so please complete it today! Your feedback will help us develop new programs that address traffic safety concerns across the city.

Action Plan 2025-2030 Interest Form

Safer Streets

Safer Streets

Safer Streets are achieved through redesigning existing roadways with features that separate vulnerable users and slow dangerous vehicle speeds. Constructing new infrastructure dedicated to vulnerable road users contributes to a safe network for all road users. On May 17, the Department of Streets and partners celebrated the official opening of the Christian to Crescent trail segment, including a 650-foot cable-stayed bridge span (the first of its kind in the state), with a ribbon cutting and community event.

There are more than a dozen significant bicycle network projects in the pipeline for this paving season, including more than 4.5 miles of separated bike lanes. These projects and others will increase the total miles of streets with a High-Quality Bike Network facility to 40 miles by the end of the year.

Some key bike facility projects this year include:

Flex post separated: 3rd Street (between South and Market streets); 13th Street (between Cecil B. Moore Avenue and Diamond Street); 15th Street (between Callowhill and Vine streets); 22nd Street (between Pennsylvania and Fairmount avenues); 23rd St (between Race and Market streets);

Parking separated: 47th St (between Chestnut Street and Kingsessing Avenue); Parkside Avenue (between Wynnefield to Bryn Mawr avenues); Walnut Street (between 22nd and 33rd streets);

Sidewalk level: Broad, Germantown & Erie Project (between Broad Street and Old York Road); Market Street Old City Improvement Project (between 2nd and 6th streets);

Concrete Curb: Chestnut Street (between Cobbs Creek Parkway and 43rd Street); Race Street (between 6th and 8th streets);

Shared-use path: MLK Drive Bridge;

The City’s paving season will bring nearly four (4) miles of new painted bike lanes to our streets this year, including but not limited to: *46th Street (between Market Street and Haverford Avenue), 51st Street (between Woodland and Warrington avenues), 53rd Street (between Paschall to Whitby avenues), 59th Street (between Baltimore Avenue and Market Street), Catharine Street (between 49th and 50th streets), Fairmount Avenue (between Front and 5th streets), *Master Street (between 11th and Broad streets), and Port Royal Avenue (between Ridge and Henry avenues). *Project completed

For more information, please visit the recent Bike Month wrap-up post on Phila.gov or visit the Complete Streets projects page.

52nd St Commercial Corridor Improvement Project

The 52nd Street commercial corridor, a historic and cultural hub in West Philadelphia, is home to vibrant local businesses and a strong community presence. SEPTA Route 52 runs through the corridor. It’s one of the highest ridership bus routes in the city and a priority corridor in the Philadelphia Transit Plan. As part of the High Injury Network, the corridor faces significant traffic safety challenges. This project is a partnership between the City, the Enterprise Center, and community stakeholders. It aims to create a safer, cleaner, and greener corridor for all.

Project components may include:

  • Traffic calming measures such as curb extensions and raised crosswalks.
  • Transit improvements.
  • Improved curbside parking and loading.
  • Streetscape improvements.

Come visit the Office of Multimodal Planning’s table at the Philadelphia Juneteenth Parade & Festival on Sunday, June 22 in Malcolm X Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The City will share information and gather feedback about the 52nd Street Commercial Corridor Improvement Project. Can’t make it? Please fill out the City’s 52nd Street survey.

Nicetown/Hunting Park Traffic Safety Improvement Projects

The City of Philadelphia is working on two traffic safety improvement projects in the Nicetown/Hunting Park area: Old York Road (Erie to Lindley) and Germantown Avenue (Erie to Indiana). Both streets have a history of crashes and are part of the City’s High Injury Network. We have funds to design and construct improvements to make these streets safer for everyone Woman walkingBicycleBusOncoming automobile. We want to hear about your traffic safety concerns and get your ideas about the type of design tools we should think about using to build the streets back safer.

Reach out to otis@phila.gov with any questions or to sign up for project updates.

Infrastructure Solutions Team (IST)

In 2025, the City of Philadelphia launched Geographic and Economic Hiring Preferences (GEHP) on select public works projects. GEHP requires contractors to hire apprentices and journeypersons from select zip codes to increase access and participation of underrepresented workers. To date, one Streets Department project, one Water Department (PWD) project, and one Airport project have gone to bid with the GEHP special provision. 

What are Geographic and Economic Hiring Preferences (GEHP)?

GEHP establishes goals for the hiring of apprentices and journeypersons residing in select zip codes. The implementation of hiring preferences is an effective strategy for expanding economic opportunities for all by connecting individuals to careers that offer family-sustaining wages.

What is a GEHP Priority Zip Code?

A GEHP Priority Zip Code is any U.S. zip code that has 42 percent or more of the population with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, as illustrated in the map below. The federal poverty level is a number based on income and family size set by the federal government each year. This number is used to determine eligibility for different federal & state benefit programs.

Shoutout to the entire community at the Bache-Martin school in Fairmount. The school along with parents and community volunteers partnered with Safe Routes Philly to pilot Philadelphia’s first School Street! While the Vision Zero team is still evaluating traffic counts and feedback collected during the pilot in preparation for our report, the smiles on the students’ faces really said it all. Stay tuned for our full report coming later this summer!

Upcoming Events

You’ll see us and our partners out in the community at the events listed below.

Partner Updates

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia (BCGP)

Please check out the following posts published in May:

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP)

The 100 Deadliest Days for teen drivers occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Find resources and safe driving tips from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia that you can share with families at teendriversource.research.chop.edu.

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Summertime means learning to drive for many teens. Dr. Elizabeth Walshe urges families to choose newer vehicles with advanced driver assistance systems for teen drivers to keep them safe. https://injury.research.chop.edu/blog/posts/protecting-young-drivers-safer-vehicles

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The Injury Prevention Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia published an article on the effectiveness of a virtual car seat installation program. The study assessed parental satisfaction, perceived value, confidence, and correct child safety seat installation during a virtual car seat check.

Virtual Car Seat Installation Program Evaluation: Parent Satisfaction and Installation Accuracy, Journal of Trauma Nursing | JTN in Vol. 32, No. 2, March/April 2025.

Clean Air Council

On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, Clean Air Council’s Trail and Transportation Teams, along with the help of East Coast Greenway, celebrated 2025’s World Bicycle Day with a bike ride from Center City Philadelphia to Southwest Philadelphia. Participants cycled sections of the Schuylkill River Trail and East Coast Greenway, including the newly opened Christian to Crescent Trail and Cobbs Creek Trail. The 10+ mile ride highlighted opportunities for employees to commute sustainably to work while enjoying the safety and green space off off-road ADA-compliant trails offer. Participants were given instructions on how to use GoPhillyGo to plan their sustainable trip using a combination of walking, biking, and public transit. GoPhillyGo.org can be used to find directions to trails and environmental centers throughout greater Philadelphia.

A big thanks to all of the riders who joined the Council and made Philadelphia’s air quality a little better while getting their exercise for the day. Learn more about the Trail Team and Transportation Team’s work.

Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC)

Do you drive, bike, walk, or ride transit on Wissahickon Avenue? DVRPC and the City of Philadelphia want to hear from you! View traffic safety recommendations informed by community input and share your thoughts in a brief survey by Friday, June 20. Learn more: www.dvrpc.org/wissahickon

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT)

In 2010, Paul Miller Jr. was tragically killed when a tractor-trailer driver became distracted while reaching for their phone and collided with Paul. Pennsylvania’s new distracted driving law, known as Paul Miller’s Law, went into effect on June 5, 2025. This law prohibits the use of hand-held mobile devices while behind the wheel – including while stopped at red light. Keep your phone down or get pulled over. One glance at your phone while driving is all it takes to kill someone. And it’s never worth it. Learn more at penndot.pa.gov/safety.

Philadelphia Water Department (PWD)

The Philadelphia Water Department has long invested in Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) in Philadelphia School District playgrounds, and in Philadelphia’s streets. In an exciting collaboration which debuted recently, PWD and Streets invested in making the walking route to two Philadelphia schools safer. PWD’s Safe Routes to School Project (Project Number #50126) invested in traffic calming, and neighborhood greening, bumpouts adjacent to the Gilbert Spruance School in Castor Gardens, and the Pennypacker School in Mt. Airy.  As part of this project, the City is building six bumpouts on critical walking routes to both Spruance and Pennypacker.  According to City of Philadelphia research, such investments are associated with reduction in injury crashes at intersections on arterials featuring such green bumpouts. The project shows how complete and green streets can support traffic safety and water quality improvements.

Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA)

Help plan the future of Erie Ave! SEPTA wants your opinion on two ideas to make Erie Avenue safer and more reliable for transit riders, pedestrians, and drivers. SEPTA’s Erie Avenue Transit First Study will propose improvements for Erie Avenue between Old York Road and Kensington Avenue to make buses quicker and more reliable, enhance bus stop conditions and access, and improve roadway safety. Erie Avenue is a critical bus corridor for Philadelphia but buses are often slow and unreliable. At the same time, Erie Ave is one of the city’s most dangerous roadways. SEPTA is exploring two ideas for bus-only lanes to provide faster, more reliable transit on Erie Avenue while improving roadway safety. Visit https://www.septa.org/initiatives/better-bus/erie-avenue-transit-first-study to learn more!

📍 Attend one of these events to learn more and share feedback:

  • June 24 – Open House @ Lighthouse Field (The Barn), 6–8 p.m.
  • June 25 – Open House @ Juniata Boys & Girls Club, 6–8 p.m.

Vision Zero in the News

Philadelphia 🔔

Drivers will be ticketed for blocking bike lanes starting June 19 as Center City group fights new law (Philly Voice)

SEPTA cuts would pose an ‘existential threat’ to Center City, business owners say (Philadelphia Inquirer)

Business owners react to planned construction coming to Philly’s Castor Avenue (NBC 10 Philadelphia)

Section of 47th Street in West Philly to be turned into one-way road to make room for bike lane

(Philly Voice)

Philadelphia Launches Bike Lane Safety Upgrades on Spruce and Pine Streets to Enhance Cyclist Protection (hoodline)

Philadelphia Swaps Car Lanes for Bikeways in Unanimous Vote (Planetizen)

SEPTA was ‘an essential part’ of Philly’s winning World Cup bid. Will it be there for next year’s games? (Philadelphia Inquirer)

An “Amazing” Experiment in School Safety (The Philadelphia Citizen)

What We’re Reading 📰

Automatic Enrollment in Discounted Transit Fare Programs Can Support Higher Participation: Lessons from Philadelphia (Urban Institute)

‘Vision Zero’ plan could help make Reading roads safer for cyclists, pedestrians (WFMZ 69 News)

Months after school districts partner with Bus Patrol, Philadelphia-area townships find staggering results (CBS News Philadelphia)

Join the Conversation

Vision Zero aims to eliminate all traffic deaths and severe injuries on Philadelphia streets www.visionzerophl.com. Follow OTIS on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and help us share safety messages with your networks using the hashtag #VisionZeroPHL.

Do you have events, accomplishments, or calls to action to share with the Vision Zero Task Force, subcommittees, and community? Send your updates for next month’s newsletter by Thursday, July 3 to Virginia Lynn at virginia.lynn@phila.gov.

Virginia Lynn

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