Front left to right, Nick Rogers (Clean Air Council), Hannah (summer intern for Rep. Donna Bullock), State Senator Nikil Saval, Rep. Mary Isaccson, Rep. Brian Sims, Sheila Simmons staff of Rep. Malcom Kenyatta, Rep. Donna Bullock, Sarah Clark Stuart (BCGP), Nino Ranjo (Streets Dept). Back right to left, Rob Armstrong (oTIS), Lizzie Hessek (Penn. Env Council), Daniel Paschall (ECG), Abby Rambo from Brian Sims office, Eric Miller from Brian Sims Office, Randy LoBasso (BCGP). Photo by Katie Burns

A great turnout of elected officials happened on a hot July afternoon. The purpose was to visit the Spring Garden Street corridor and learn about the City of Philadelphia’s plans to transform it into a revitalized, safe commuter corridor for all users, including bicyclists and pedestrians.

At the invitation of staff of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, Clean Air Council and the East Coast Greenway, State Senator Nikil Saval and State Reps Brian Sims, Mary Isaccson, Donna Bullock and staff representing Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta joined with staff from the Streets Department and the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability to learn about the City’s plans for improving the entire corridor.

Spring Garden Street is a key connector of the Circuit and is a priority project of the Circuit Trails Coalition and the Philadelphia Action Team.  Over 800 people have signed a petition asking Mayor Kenney to prioritize the corridor for federal funding. In response, Mayor Kenney is having his administration apply for a $1.5 Million RAISE grant toward a $4.7M budget to prepare a full engineering and design that will include raised curbside bike lanes.

The 5 elected officials who attended today’s site visit have provided letters of support for the City’s RAISE application. We extend our thanks to each of them for their time and energy to help the City of Philadelphia find the funds for this critical project.