Editorial: Save the Pedestrians!

It was a hair-raising adventure for many of the folks on foot who carefully made their way to the center lanes of Benjamin Franklin Parkway for Thursday's public announcement of a welcome $17.1 million plan to upgrade the boulevard.

Cars whizzed along the outer lanes as usual, making some pedestrians' journey a potential life-and-death moment.

Gov. Rendell and Mayor Nutter needed no better illustration of why the Parkway needs to be more pedestrian-friendly. Their announcement was welcome to those who have waged a years-long effort to wrest back the Parkway from car and truck traffic.

The selected design concept, first developed by the Center City District in cooperation with the city and Parkway cultural institutions, focuses on improvements that could enliven the street envisioned as Philadelphia's Champs-Élysées.

Right now, save for the rare occasions when the Parkway is closed to traffic for festivals and other events, the tree-lined boulevard is a speedway. As Center City District president Paul R. Levy told the assembled dignitaries, it's time to transform "one of the nicest expressways in the region."

The first fruits of that effort are evident - streetscape improvements around Logan Square, where lighting was upgraded and crosswalks added, among other minor improvements elsewhere along the Parkway.

Now it's good see that the make-over will be kicked up a notch - with pedestrian friendly improvements stretching from the Art Museum to JFK Plaza. Traffic lanes will be realigned, sidewalks widened, and bicycle lanes added to slow traffic near the Free Library and the site of the proposed Barnes Foundation museum at 20th Street. Sidewalks will be spruced up between Logan Square and LOVE Park, and two small parks nearby will be upgraded.

Meanwhile, the Art Museum will launch its own remake of the grounds at the Rodin Museum. And a new cafe is set to open in the fall at 16th Street.

When the work is completed in three years, the Parkway should be far more welcoming to pedestrians.

Credit is due Rendell and Nutter, and Levy's group, but also to three foundations whose joint pledges of $4.25 million helped leverage the state and city dollars going toward this project: the Pew Charitable Trusts, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the William Penn Foundation. The philanthropies' partnership in the Parkway effort is a smart investment in enhancing the downtown as a destination for visitors and residents alike.

Building on this street work is the next challenge. There's the Barnes to be built, as well as the stunning expansion planned - but not nearly fully funded - at the Free Library. There's even more incentive now to move those projects ahead.

Since the goal is to make the street more vibrant, the Nutter administration also will need to redouble efforts to convince church and community groups to move their food giveaways for the homeless off the Parkway.

Next up for Parkway dreamers: What other development could enhance our city's slice of Paris?