$17.4M Going To Roosevelt Boulevard Safety Improvement Projects

PHILADELPHIA — In an effort to improve safety on one of Philadelphia's busiest and most dangerous roads, PennDOT is distributing about $17.4 million in Automated Speed Enforcement funds to make Roosevelt Boulevard safer.

The money will be used across five safety projects that are in line with the Shapiro Administration’s focus on making travel safer for everyone.

"Dangerous driver behavior – like speeding – makes everyone on the road less safe," PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said. "This program aims to discourage speeding and change people’s behavior, and invest those funds back in the community, in projects that help keep everyone safe."

Act 86 of 2018 authorized Pennsylvania’s ASE pilot program on Roosevelt Blvd. (U.S. Route 1) in Philadelphia between Ninth St. and the Bucks County line. Under this program, the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) installed automated speed enforcement at eight locations where data shows speeding has been an issue. PennDOT administers a Transportation Enhancement Grants Program using the fines from the ASE pilot program.

This investment brings the total dollars awarded through the ASE funding program to $72.8 million since the program began in 2021.

The following approved projects are all in Philadelphia:

• $1 million for Roosevelt Boulevard Parallel Corridor Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Pre-Development. This program will fund the concept and preliminary design of traffic safety improvements along Roosevelt Boulevard using federal HSIP funds. Work will be conducted at priority corridors, Bustleton Avenue (from Winchester Avenue to County Line Road) and Whitaker Avenue /B Street (from Venango Street to Roosevelt Boulevard).
• $5 million to complete design and construction for selected projects in the vicinity of Roosevelt Boulevard for a Speed Cushion Program on city-owned streets. Speed cushions are rounded raised areas of asphalt, similar to speed humps, which have been shown to reduce speeds.
• $7 million for Roosevelt Boulevard Parallel Corridor Transit Priority. Funds will support design and construction of the intersection modifications on Olney Avenue between Broad Street and Rising Sun Avenue, including bus boarding islands (including curb, sidewalk, and stormwater modifications), street lighting, pavement marking and signing, signal modifications and upgrades to improve transit access in this area.
• $3.4 million for Roosevelt Boulevard Parallel Corridor Intersection Modifications. Funds will support design and construction for intersection improvement at three to four locations, which will be determined by project viability, crash data, and funding gaps for projects currently underway. Possible locations include Castor Avenue (from Van Kirk Street to Cottman Avenue), Rising Sun Avenue (from Van Kirk Street to Cottman Avenue), and Adams Avenue (from Rising Sun Avenue to Roosevelt Boulevard). This project will help to slow traffic at intersections, improve visibility between drivers and pedestrians, and improve safety by reducing the time it takes for pedestrians to cross.
• $1 million to support expansion of the City of Philadelphia’s Automated Speed Enforcement Program. The City is partnering with Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) to expand the ASE program to other corridors with high levels of speed-related crashes.