This week’s community meeting at J.S. Jenks School focused on the ongoing pedestrian safety crisis in Chestnut Hill, particularly along Germantown Avenue. For over a decade, residents have been pleading for basic safety measures, such as repainting crosswalks, only to face repeated disappointments and bureaucratic hurdles.
The meeting, organized by the Chesnut Hill Community Association and Chestnut Hill Business District, included attendance by Council member Cindy Bass, and representatives from the Philadelphia Streets Department and State Representative Tarik Khan’s office. There was a large turnout of concerned citizens sharing harrowing stories of near-misses and accidents and suggested improvements beyond crosswalk paint.
The meeting concluded with the representative from the Streets Department agreeing to look into some of the suggestionsThe community meeting in Chestnut Hill highlighted a critical issue that many cities face: the ongoing struggle to improve pedestrian safety. While Councilmember Bass’s commitment to repainting crosswalks is a step in the right direction, it’s clear that paint alone is not enough to address the complex challenges of pedestrian safety in urban environments.
Fortunately, the wealth of research and successful implementations worldwide demonstrate that this is not an unsolvable problem. We have a robust toolkit of proven strategies to make our streets safer for pedestrians:
- Intersection daylighting: Removing parking spaces near crosswalks to improve visibility.
- Raised crosswalks: Elevating crosswalks to slow down vehicles and increase pedestrian visibility.
- Enhanced lighting: Improving illumination at crosswalks, especially at night.
- Traffic calming measures: Implementing road diets and corner radius reductions.
- Technology solutions: Installing red light cameras and speed cameras to enforce traffic laws
The evidence is clear: we know how to make our streets safer for pedestrians. The challenge now lies not in a lack of solutions, but in the commitment to implement them. By dedicating the necessary resources and political will to these proven strategies, Philadelphia can transform its streets into safe, walkable spaces for all residents. The time for action is now – we have the knowledge and the tools to save lives and create more livable communities.