For Immediate Release: January 23, 2018
Contact: Randy LoBasso, 215-242-9253 Ext. 311, randy@bicyclecoalition.org
Roosevelt Blvd. is the most dangerous street in Philadelphia, and it’s time the state allow Philadelphia to make it safer for people using all modes of transportation.
That’s why the Philadelphia Vision Zero Alliance, consisting of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance, AARP, AAA, 5th Square, and others, will be hosting an informational breakfast with Pennsylvania Rep. John Taylor, to discuss ways to make Roosevelt Boulevard a better, safer place to travel.
The event will take place at 8:30am-10am on Thursday, January 25 at the law offices of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhodes, LLP, 123 South Broad Street, 28th Floor.
Between 2011 and 2015, six percent of Philadelphia’s crashes occurred on Roosevelt Blvd., resulting in 13 percent of all of Philadelphia’s traffic fatalities. Roosevelt Boulevard represents just 0.6 percent of Philadelphia’s streets.
Rep. Taylor, who lives near Roosevelt Boulevard, has been working to enact auto-enforcement legislation on the roadway for several years. He will be discussing the most-recent incarnation of the auto-enforcement bill, Senate Bill 172, at the event. Senate Bill 172 would create a speed camera Pilot for Roosevelt Boulevard and added safety benefits for highway workers.
The Vision Zero Alliance previously held a press conference in July 2016 on Roosevelt Boulevard with Rep. Taylor, City Councilperson Al Taubenberger, and members of the Philadelphia Police Department, advocating for the state Legislature to allow a pilot program of auto enforcement on Roosevelt Boulevard.
The Vision Zero Alliance will be joined by Latanya Byrd, a private citizen whose niece, Samara Banks, and three of Banks’ children, were killed by drag racers on Roosevelt Blvd., in 2013.
The National Transportation Safety Board recently called for states to take advantage of more safety technologies, like speed cameras.
Who: Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Vision Zero Alliance, AARP, AAA, Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance, John Taylor, Latanya Byrd, 5th Square
What: The Vision Zero Alliance is attempting to build support with elected officials, business and community leaders, who are dedicated to making Roosevelt Boulevard a safer place to travel in Philadelphia
Where: Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhodes, 123 South Broad Street, 28th Floor
When: 8:30am-10am
RSVP: Email bob@bicyclecoalition.org to RSVP to this event