On December 2nd, Kelly Drive received a new reduced speed limit of 25 mph from 35 mph. This change is part of a pilot with the City of Philadelphia and PennDOT District 6 to study whether this change slows drivers and reduces crashes. Kelly Drive is part of Philadelphia’s High Injury Network, the 12% of streets where 80% of traffic deaths and serious injuries occur, according to data from PennDot from 2014 to 2018. The road is one of six corridors where reduced speeds are being tested by PennDOT and the city’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability (oTIS). Others include Cottman Avenue and Vine Street.
In other cities that have tried reducing speed limits on dangerous roads, some studies have produced promising results. One study in Boston found drivers were 29.3% less likely to exceed 35 mph when the speed limit was lowered from 30 mph to 25 mph in certain areas, which were compared to a control group in Providence, Rhode Island. And in Seattle, another study found crashes involving injuries were 17% less likely when speed limits were lowered to 25 mph at a series of downtown roads. Philly Voice.
This pilot is an exciting development, as Harrisburg would need to pass legislation in order for Philadelphia to have local control over its own speed limits. Philly is not the only city with this issue. In New York City, Transportation Alternatives and Families for Safe Streets have been trying to pass Sammy’s Law, named for Sammy Cohen Eckstein, a 12-year-old boy killed by a speeding driver in Brooklyn in 2013 just a few blocks from his home. Since his tragic and preventable death, more than 2,222 people, including 96 children, have been killed in traffic violence in New York City. Sammy’s Law would allow New York City to set its own speed limits below the state minimum of 25 miles per hour.
We are happy to see oTIS and PennDOT taking a step toward reducing driver speeds, but more needs to be done on roads like Kelly Drive to reduce the majority of speeding drivers. Tools like road diets, speed cushions, automated red light cameras, and automated speed cameras can help to not only physically slow down drivers, but also enforce the rules of the road with regularity.
We look forward to seeing how this pilot program performs and how it informs PennDOT in the future.