For Immediate Release: Sept. 13, 2016

On Friday, September 16, the Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee will be in Philadelphia to hear testimony on legislation that would install speed cameras on Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia.

The Committee will hear testimony on House Bill 2233, which seeks to amend Title 75 of the Pennsylvania Code for the purposes of installing a Pilot speed camera program on the entirety of Roosevelt Boulevard. The hearing will be held in in City Hall, Room 400.

The bill, made public earlier this summer during a press conference on Roosevelt Boulevard, was introduced by State Rep. John Taylor (R-Phila).

“It’s my opinion, and the opinion of many other across the Greater Philadelphia Region, that something needs to be done to make Roosevelt Boulevard safer,” said State Rep. Taylor. “House Bill 2233 is the first step toward that. Safety cameras have been proven, time and again, to make streets safer in cities, and that is the ultimate goal of this bill.”

Each year, about 10 percent of all Philadelphia traffic deaths take place on Roosevelt Boulevard. The 12-lane road has regularly been designated one of the most dangerous in the entire United States.

The newly-created Philadelphia Vision Zero Alliance, a group of organizations advocating for zero traffic deaths in Philadelphia through better education, enforcement, and engineering design, will be in attendance to support the bill.

The legislation has been endorsed by members of Philadelphia City Government, as well, including Councilman Al Taubenberger, who lives in Northeast Philadelphia.

“I applaud Representative Taylor’s initiative to lead this important public safety effort from his position in state government,” said Taubenberger. “Roosevelt Boulevard has been too dangers for much too long. Too many lives are lost, year after year, because of the road’s outdated engineering. It’s time the people of Northeast Philadelphia are given the tools to make themselves safer on the streets.”

The Institute of Highway Safety recently released a study of 28 international studies, showing that speed camera enforcement reduces injuries and fatal crashes where they are installed.

A study of crashes before and after speed cameras were introduced in Washington, D.C. showed a 16.8 percent reduction in crashes, and a 20 percent reduction in total injuries.

“Too many children, women and men have died unnecessarily because of the roadway’s poor design, which makes manual speed enforcement very difficult,” said Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Executive Director Sarah Clark Stuart. “The Boulevard’s dangerous nature cries out for a solution that can only be filled by automated speed enforcement.”

WHO: The Vision Zero Alliance, State Rep. Taylor, Pennsylvania House Transportation Committee City Councilman Al Taubenberger, Witnesses

WHAT: Hearing on Pennsylvania House Bill 2233

WHERE: Philadelphia City Hall, Room 400

WHEN: Friday, September 16, 10am

Contact:

Randy LoBasso
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia
215-242-9253 Ext. 311
randy@bicyclecoalition.org