By Ben Harris

The Fairhill Neighborhood of North Philadelphia, which has some of the highest rates of traffic crashes in the city, was recently the location of a listening session to hear the community’s input, views, ideas, and concerns about the traffic violence in their neighborhood.

Hosted by the Vision Zero Alliance, AARP PA, the Bicycle Coalition and HACE, this Listening Session was put together to help amplify the voices of community members to the greater Philadelphia region, to City Council, and to the Mayor.

What a fantastic night #fullhouse at the #PHLvisionzero community listening session. Making the community part of the conversation. @HACECDC @bikelanesphilly @bcgp @AARPPA @AARPLivable @PhillyOTIS #northphilly #safestreets. @MrRawle @billjwpa pic.twitter.com/wyRYIpWoxj

— Yocasta Lora (@Ylora0211) October 11, 2018

With both large discussions and smaller table discussions, community members voiced their concerns about the safety of streets like Lehigh, N 5th, Allegheny, and several others throughout Fairhill and North Philadelphia.

Among the issues residents brought up:

• Dangerous driving
• Lack of police enforcement
• School zone drop off/pick up
• Safe access to parks and playgrounds
  Infrastructure repairs and upkeep

Residents had plenty of suggestions too; they often cited more education through parental and community involvement, more police enforcement, and infrastructure improvements, like additional speed cushions, and stop signs as potential ideas to curb the dangerous conditions.

Overall the group agreed traffic safety is a real concern that has not be getting the attention it deserves — especially in North Philadelphia.

With more listening sessions coming up before the meetings with city council and the mayor’s office, there’s still plenty of discussion to be had, and more concerns about the dangers of their area and suggestions about how to improve them.If you live in North Philadelphia and are interested in coming out to the next Listening Session, contact HACE, or stop by their office at 167 W Allegheny Ave, where we will be dropping off fliers for our next Listening Session.