Have you, or someone you know, ever gotten into a traffic accident as a cyclist or pedestrian? Perhaps, you or someone you know was on the other side, behind the driver’s wheel? Either way, you’re certainly not alone. A driver hits a pedestrian every five hours in Philadelphia, according to the website of Vision Zero, an initiative of The City of Philadelphia’s Managing Director’s Office of Transportation & Infrastructure System (oTIS). In 2016, there were 369 deaths and serious injuries as a result of automotive crashes.

oTIS wants to drastically reduce and ultimately eliminate traffic-related deaths (of including but not limited to bikers and pedestrians) throughout the city. Their initiative, Vision Zero, hopes to accomplish this ambitious goal by 2030.

Using municipal data of traffic crashes by neighborhood, the oTIS produces some alarming and urgent statistics. In our previous post, we wrote about Vision Zero’s report that deemed 52nd Street and Baltimore Avenue and 40th and Market streets as the most dangerous intersections in the entire city.  Continue Reading

Chestnut Street is one of the busiest streets in West Philadelphia with three lanes of eastbound traffic with cars often zooming by at high speeds. This Wednesday evening (Apr. 19), the City is hosting an open house on a proposed Chestnut Street transportation project that will help protect bicyclists and pedestrians between 34th and 45th Streets.

The following safety-enhancing features are being proposed:

• Adding a parking protected bicycle lane to the north side of the street with flexible delineator posts
• Shortening the pedestrian crossing distance with painted pedestrian islands
• Calming vehicle speeds by reducing the number of through traffic lanes
• Adding right-turn lanes at appropriate locations

The open house will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Enterprise Center (4548 Market St.).

SEPTA is proposing price increases on pretty much everything except transfers. Cash fares will go from $2.25 to $2.50 and discounted fares (with a token or Key card) will increase to $2 from $1.80. If approved the new fares would take effect on July 1, 2017.

This increase was supposed to be proposed last year as part of the plan to raise fares every three years, but was postponed for the rollout of the new SEPTA Key program.

Here are the changes in other SEPTA products:

• Weekly TransPass increases $1.50 to $25.50
• Monthly TransPasses increase from $90 to $96
• Disabled fare increases 25 cents to $1.25
• A Convenience Pass goes up a buck to $9 as do Independence Passes, which go from $12 to $13 for an individual and $20 to $30 for a family.

SEPTA will hold public hearings on its proposed 2018 budget (including the proposed fare increases) in April. The one in Philadelphia (others are in Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery and Chester Counties) is scheduled for Monday, April 24 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at SEPTA headquarters, 1234 Market St. Comments can be e-mailed to operatingbudget@septa.org

Starting Monday, March 13, SEPTA customers can fully transition to paying for their rides with a Key Card (just tap and go!). SEPTA is expanding the Travel Wallet feature to Market-Frankford Line, Broad Street Line and major bus loop fare kiosks, and riders will be able to purchase a Key Card at fair kiosks and load it with money starting on the following dates at the following Market-Frankford Line stations in West Philly (Note: SEPTA Key Cards and Travel Wallet are already available at 69th Street Transportation Center and 1234 Market Street fare kiosks):

Tuesday, March 14

– 30th Street
– 34th Street

Wednesday, March 15

– 40th Street
– 52nd Street  Continue Reading

SEPTA has revealed more details on the proposed Route 49, a bus service that would connect the rapidly developing Brewerytown section of the city with Grays Ferry via Fairmount Park and University City. Plans were presented at a community meeting on Tuesday. The route would provide a direct transit option between 30th Street Station and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Here’s a map for the proposed route (via universitycity.org):

Click to enlarge.

Continue Reading

SEPTA is expanding its Key Fare program to more transit locations. Starting Thursday, Feb. 9, customers can get a new Key Card at 69th Street Transportation Center with the purchase of a Weekly/Monthly Transpass, Convenience Pass, or when they load funds to a Travel Wallet.

Beginning Monday, Feb. 13, and continuing throughout February and early March, Fare Kiosks will be activated at all Market-Frankford Line and Broad Street Line stations, and all major bus loops. Key Cards will be available with the purchase of Weekly and Monthly TransPasses, and then reloadable for all passes and the Travel Wallet.

Fare Kiosks will be activated on the Market-Frankford Line in West Philly on the following dates:

• Thursday, Feb. 16: 30th St., 34th St., 40th St., 46th St.
• Friday, Feb. 17: 52nd St., 56th St., 60th St., 63rd St.  Continue Reading