Nutter asks people not to walk in the streets around Dilworth Plaza
Mayor Nutter, concerned about pedestrians walking in the street because of Dilworth Plaza renovation, asks people to stick to the sidewalks.
With Dilworth Plaza fenced off for construction, Mayor Nutter asked people to stay on the sidewalks instead of traipsing through the streets. The fencing cuts off access to the west half of City Hall, which had been a major pedestrian thoroughfare. Since the barriers went up last week, many people have chosen to walk in the street on JFK Boulevard and on 15th street.
Nutter on Thursday held a news conference asking them to stop.
"There is no safe place on the side of 15th street for people to walk," said the mayor, adding that crossing to a sidewalk would add only a few minutes at most to the average trip.
Although a city law requires construction projects to maintain pedestrian access, Paul Levy, head of the Center City District, which is overseeing the $50 million Dilworth project, said his organization had concluded it would not be safe to have people walking next to large construction equipment.
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