By Matthew Cassidy | Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability
*Photo by City of Philadelphia
Completed in 2023, the Washington Avenue Repaving and Improvement project aimed to improve transportation safety and implement better curbside management on Washington Avenue, primarily between Broad Street and 4th Street. The Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS) carried out the community engagement and design processes while the Department of Streets oversaw the implementation.
Some of the key improvements between Broad Street and 4th Street included:
Installing traffic calming measures,
Reducing pedestrian and bicycle exposure to motor vehicle traffic,
Increasing available daytime parking capacity,
Installing new public loading zones, and
Installing interim painted bus boarding islands.
Additional traffic calming, including speed cushions and hardened centerlines, was installed on specific blocks between Grays ferry Avenue and Broad Street.
The project was enabled by City Council legislation, which requires that OTIS complete project evaluation studies at the 1-year and 2-year marks following project implementation.
The purpose of this study is to collect data on Washington Avenue and parallel routes to understand how the project has impacted people walking, driving, taking transit, and riding bicycles on Washington Avenue. In the Washington Avenue Year 1 Evaluation Report, you can find comparisons between Washington Avenue east of Broad Street, which received a road diet with new parking and loading regulations, and Washington Avenue west of Broad Street, which received less significant changes.