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Obama administration gives city $2.5M to study rebuilding Roosevelt Blvd.

The Obama administration has given Philadelphia $2.5 million to figure out how to finally fix Roosevelt Boulevard, the 12-lane deathtrap that runs through the Northeast.

Roosevelt Boulevard sees as many as 75,000 to 90,000 vehicles per day. (PlanPhilly)
Roosevelt Boulevard sees as many as 75,000 to 90,000 vehicles per day. (PlanPhilly)Read more

The Obama administration has given Philadelphia $2.5 million to figure out how to finally fix Roosevelt Boulevard, the 12-lane deathtrap that runs through the Northeast.

The federal grant, coupled with $2.5 million in local and state funding, is designed to do what all previous efforts have failed to do: Plan a reconstruction that will make the boulevard safe and efficient for motorists, pedestrians, transit riders, and even bicyclists.

The 14-mile-long boulevard has a reputation as one of the most dangerous highways in the nation. Since 2001, 150 people have been killed in traffic accidents on the highway, and thousands have been hurt.

For pedestrians, the road is too wide. For bus riders, it is too slow. For motorists, it is too chaotic.

"The boulevard doesn't work for any of the travelers that use it," said Andrew Stober, chief of staff of Mayor Nutter's Office of Transportation and Utilities. "We need a plan to reconstruct the boulevard in a serious way that is financially feasible."

That will mean separating the high-speed inner lanes from the lower-speed outer lanes and getting rid of the notorious crossovers between the two. It also will mean creating a separate rapid-bus corridor in each direction.

After decades of half measures that accomplished little and grand plans that came to naught, the newest effort will try to balance cost and life-altering change.

"Anything less than the physical separation of modes will fail to achieve a comprehensive long-term solution," city planners wrote in their successful application for federal funding. "This requires a full reconfiguration of the boulevard."

About 150,000 people in 90,000 vehicles travel the boulevard daily, including about 25,000 bus passengers.

The effort to plan a rebuilt boulevard will get $1.5 million from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, $500,000 from the city, and $500,000 from SEPTA.

The anticipated result, the city application said, will be a blueprint for a "project that finally fixes the boulevard."

The city's application predicted it would take 31/2 years to complete the planning study. And then it may take five years - and hundreds of millions of dollars - to rebuild the boulevard.

That would mean a reconstructed boulevard by 2023.

The first step will be to hire a consultant to lead the effort and plan meetings to gather public opinion.

Making the boulevard safer and more transit-friendly could have the added benefit of reducing poverty in the Northeast by improving access to jobs and boosting economic development there, Stober said.

"If we transform the boulevard into a viable multi-modal project, it will increase economic competitiveness and improve the quality of life for residents of Northeast Philadelphia," he said.

The new plan will build on a study now underway by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission to develop a low-cost bus rapid transit system for the boulevard. That "Better Bus" study, begun last year, envisions express bus lanes and controlled traffic signals to move buses more quickly along the highway.

Past Boulevard Safety Efforts

Mid-1990s: Adjusted traffic signal timing.

2002: Larger speed-limit signs and brighter pedestrian signs installed.

2005: Red-light cameras introduced.

2006: Lanes repaired and resurfaced at a cost of $6 million.

2007: Six flashing speed-display signs installed; fines doubled for traffic violations.

2008: Nearly 500 pedestrian "countdown" signs installed at 48 locations.

2013: Traffic lines freshly painted; signals installed at five mid-block crosswalks; 12 police-enforcement pullout areas created.

2014: Inside travel lanes resurfaced.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

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Past Boulevard Safety Efforts

Mid-1990s: Adjusted traffic signal timing.

2002: Larger speed-limit signs and brighter pedestrian signs installed.

2005: Red-light cameras introduced.

2006: Lanes repaired and resurfaced at a cost of $6 million.

2007: Six flashing speed-display signs installed; fines doubled for traffic violations.

2008: Nearly 500 pedestrian "countdown" signs installed at 48 locations.

2013: Traffic lines freshly painted; signals installed at five mid-block crosswalks; 12 police-enforcement pullout areas created.

2014: Inside travel lanes resurfaced.

Source: Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

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