18th and Pine Streets
At Wednesday night’s Society Hill Civic Association meeting, leadership told those in attendance that flex posts will be installed at the intersections on Spruce and Pine Streets, east of 8th Street.
According to SHCA members, the flex post issue — which has been on the minds of Philadelphians who utilize the historic Society Hill neighborhood since Spruce and Pine Streets were re-engineered and flex posts added to the intersections last spring and summer — came up because board member Susan Burt-Collins asked that it be put on the agenda.
More than 60 residents in Society Hill have been organizing neighbors to advocate for SHCA leadership to support the installation of flex posts at the intersections.
Before the meeting, Burt-Collins wrote a letter that she asked be read into the meeting’s minutes, listing all the reasons SHCA should take its hold off the installation of flex posts in the neighborhood and requested a vote at the February 19th meeting.
After some discussion, SHCA leadership noted the flex posts would be going in east of Eight Street, just as they have between Eighth and 22nd Streets on Spruce and Pine.
This is a proud win for Society Hill and the neighbors who have consistently advocated for a better, safer community for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists who live in, and pass through, their neighborhood.
During the installation of intersection protections along Spruce and Pine Streets, it was learned that the City would not be installing protection east of Eighth Street. This went against the public plans that had been debated for the better part of a year and what many neighbors along Spruce and Pine Streets believed was going to happen.
After much debate, meetings, letters (lots of them), and community activism, SHCA leadership agreed to a “pilot” by the City on their streets, as was first reported in an edition of the association’s newsletter.
SHCA leadership held meetings with their Board and the city about this issue, then agreed to bring it up at last night’s meeting.
According to SHCA members at the meeting, leadership made clear the writing is on the wall: Flex posts will be installed at the intersections to make the streets safer. And, despite earlier plans, the posts will not be installed as a “Pilot.” They will be permanent.
We will continue monitoring the situation and speaking with our friends in Society Hill as the issue moves forward. But we are satisfied with the way things seem to be headed.
Lastly, thanks to SHCA leadership, especially Larry Spector, for taking the time to listen to neighbors and constituents and find a solution to this issue. Community issues with changing infrastructure can be messy, but Mr. Spector seems to have successfully figured out, with his neighbors, a way forward.