🚧 More Safety Improvements for Cobbs Creek Parkway! 🚧
Thank you very much for being one of over 650 friends and neighbors who signed our petition calling for a safer Cobbs Creek Parkway.
To share some promising news, the City of Philadelphia has requested $800,000 in funding from the federal government for safety improvements at key pedestrian crossings at Cobbs Creek Parkway.
Read moreNewsletter: 🚇 March Meet-Up & City Transit Plan | 🏞️ Cobbs Creek Pkwy Progress | 🚃 SEPTA's Use of Covid Funding
At our March meet-up, we are honored to host special guests from the Mayor's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, & Sustainability:
- Chris Puchalsky, Director of Policy & Strategic Initiatives
- Andrew Simpson, Transit Policy Planner
They will introduce us to the new Philadelphia Transit Plan which details a vision for our region’s transit system going forward to 2045.
Read moreWIN for Cobbs Creek Parkway!
We have exciting news to share about Cobbs Creek Parkway!
At a virtual stakeholder meeting hosted by Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center last Thursday, PennDOT and the Philadelphia Streets Department shared some promising plans to improve safety along Cobbs Creek Parkway.
Read more
PennDOT & Streets Dept: We Need a Safer Cobbs Creek Parkway
Update 10/19/20:
For far too long Cobbs Creek Parkway has been a deadly thoroughfare weaving through the western edge of West and Southwest Philadelphia.
This must change today.
Sign the petition to join the Cobbs Creek Neighbors Association and 5th Square in demanding PennDOT & the Philadelphia Streets Department to immediately implement road safety measures so no more lives are lost.
Seeing the tragic deaths of pedestrian, Avante Reynolds, in August and two motorists in July, we demand immediate action to make this road safe for all its users. Reports from DVRPC and Philadelphia2035, along with years of advocacy from the community have called for real measures to lower vehicle speeds and increase its safety. This has fallen on deaf ears.
The fact that Cobbs Creek Parkway has been recently repaved without more aggressive measures to calm motor vehicle traffic and provide safe pedestrian crossings amounts to structural racism. These transportation policies have, in effect, prioritized the convenience of passing motorists over the lives of the predominantly Black residents who live near and walk across this dangerous roadway.
PennDOT & the Philadelphia Streets Department need to take robust engineering measures to make the entire length of Cobbs Creek Parkway safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike.
High-Priority Measures to Improve Pedestrian Safety
- More Crosswalks to break up large sections without a crossing
- Curb Extensions & Bulb-Outs
- Raised Medians & Pedestrian Islands
- Raised Crosswalks & Speed Tables
- Pedestrian-Activated Beacons (HAWKs or RRFBs)
Other Measures to Improve Roadway Safety
- Speed Cushions
- Hardened Center Lines
- More Traffic Lights & Stop Signs
- Radar Speed Signs
Though engineering measures should be the ultimate solution, we also support automated enforcement measures like the speed cameras found on Roosevelt Blvd and also request the State Legislature to enact laws enabling this.
Join us in demanding immediate road safety measures on Cobbs Creek Parkway.
Calls for safety on Cobbs Creek Parkway need to be answered collectively, once and for all
By Larissa Mogano, For 5th Square
On Thursday, newly elected Register of Wills and 50-year resident of Southwest Philadelphia Tracey Gordon held a press conference at the entrance to the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center to address traffic safety concerns along one of Philadelphia’s most dangerous roads: Cobbs Creek Parkway. Jokingly dubbed “NASCAR” by other longtime neighbors, the topic of the press conference was definitely no laughing matter. We gathered to remember yet another young life lost in a completely preventable incident. 25-year-old Avante Reynolds leaves behind a 2-month-old baby after she was violently killed by a driver who left the scene. While we are frustrated with the careless and callous actions of one individual, the responsibility is not theirs alone.
Read more