The Recovery Streets Coalition — the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, 5th Square, Feet First Philly and the Clean Air Council — has made this proposal for the City of Philadelphia to get through the COVID-19 pandemic, and come out ahead of where we were.

Using tools already in the City’s arsenal, like Open Streets, Calm Streets, expanded outdoor dining and food vending, expanding the Play Streets program, and creating 50 miles of new protected bike lanes throughout the city for workers, these changes can be implemented to better deal with the fallout from the crisis our city, and world, finds itself in.

RETHINKING OUR SPACE

We can use our existing street, park, and sidewalk space to help get Philadelphia through the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Examine potential interventions to safely share street space, such as: reduce motorized vehicle speeds; prohibit through traffic in neighborhoods; reduce lane widths and/or the number of traffic lanes to provide more street space for people to walk, run, skate, and bike; adjust traffic signals to favor pedestrians and calmed vehicle speeds; paint and physically-separate temporary protected bike lanes to ease congestion in Philadelphia’s business districts, and create bus-only lanes.
• Simplify and telescope the application process for residents to request Play Streets
• Create a pilot program for opening restaurants by providing outdoor seating and moving food carts o sidewalks and into parking spaces. This will require reallocating parking spaces and streetspace in some neighborhoods.
• Plan ahead for the post-COVID world. Simple solutions like emergency dedicated bus lanes and temporary protected bike lanes (especially for those within six miles of Center City). 
• Measure success. Evaluate the pilot projects frequently to ensure that they are being safely utilized and changes are made quickly and expeditiously.

Read more here: Full Recovery Streets PDF

Past events: