A new report details how safe Philadelphia streets actually are and analyzes the city’s efforts to make roads safer for drivers, bike riders and pedestrians. NBC10’s Miguel Martinez-Valle has a closer look at the findings and what the city is doing.
Recent projects that were completed throughout Philadelphia as part of the ongoing Vision Zero project reduced deadly crashes -- and those that cause serious injury -- by about 34%, compared to High Injury Network trends, officials said Tuesday.
Overall, crashes that cause any type of injury were reduced by 20%, officials claimed.
"These remedies that we've put in place have reduced crashes and fatalities substantially and we will continue to do that. We are committed to the end of the term," said Mayor Jim Kenney during an event held along Cobbs Creek Parkway on Tuesday.
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During the morning event, officials released the Vision Zero Annual Report 2023 and the website, Complete Streets Projects Transform Traffic Safety.
Officials detailed how the report notes "three key types of traffic safety projects" that are being used to help reduce traffic deaths: road diets, separated bike lanes, and Neighborhood Slow Zones.
- Road diets reduce travel lanes and reallocate roadway space. Road diets resulted in 18% fewer total injury crashes compared to High Injury Network trends
- Where separated bike lanes were installed, there were 17% fewer total injury crashes and twice as many bike riders. Philadelphia’s goal is to add separated bike lanes to 40 total miles of streets by 2025.
- Neighborhood Slow Zones install traffic calming measures and set a 20 mph speed limit. Newly installed neighborhood Slow Zones have seen no fatal or serious injury crashes, and 75% fewer crashes.
Also, officials noted that Philadelphia has recently won $220 million in federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, state, and local traffic safety grants.
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Overall, according to PennDOT figures, there were 124 traffic deaths on Philadelphia streets in 2022, compared to 123 in 2021.
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