Rendering of improved Woodland Avenue looking east towards the 40th Street Trolley Portal and entrance to The Woodlands.

Long-needed safety improvements are coming soon to Woodland Avenue.

Woodland Avenue, and especially the portion between 41st Street and VA Medical Center driveway, is one of the most dangerous roads in the city. Between 2017 and 2021, 13 crashes involving 49 people were reported in that part of the road, with 27 people injured.

Pedestrians and cyclists trying to cross near SEPTA’s 40th Street Trolley Portal and enter The Woodlands currently have to dash across Woodland Avenue and hope for the best. Same goes for the awkward intersection of Chester Ave and Woodland Avenue.

In fact, it can be so treacherous at times along Woodland that the City added the street to the High Injury Network of Vision Zero, the program to eliminate traffic-related deaths by 2030.

As part of Vision Zero’s Woodland Avenue Complete Streets Project, the City will repave part of Woodland Avenue and install safety features between 41st and the VA driveway in 2023. The first round of improvements includes paving, bike lanes upgrades and adding traffic calming measures, such as speed bumps. All-way stop signs and pedestrian crosswalks will be added at the intersection of Woodland Avenue and Chester Avenue.

Later improvements will include a traffic light and pedestrian crossing at the entrance to The Woodlands, which has become a popular recreation and event venue, a separated two-way bike lane on the south side of Woodland Avenue and improved sidewalks.

The work is being coordinated with SEPTA’s Trolley Modernization Project, which will bring new, longer vehicles, new on-street stations, and infrastructure improvements. More information about this project is available here.