Mayor-Elect Jim Kenney (Image via Kenney2015.com)
Thus far, the Better Mobility 2015 Agenda that the Bicycle Coalition took the lead on preparing back in January 2015 has been well received by Philadelphia’s Mayor-elect Jim Kenney.
Over the past year, the Bicycle Coalition and our Better Mobility Working Group partners have held meetings with the mayor-elect, and hosted a mayoral debate, at which the then-candidates were asked about their mobility priorities. Kenney has made a number of campaign commitments to carry out several Top Asks from the Better Mobility Working Group.
Better Mobility 2015
Mayor-Elect Kenney’s current website states that one of his priorities is to “institute a Vision Zero policy designed to ensure everyone can feel safe walking or riding on our streets.” He has named Clarena Tolson as Deputy Managing Director for Infrastructure and Transportation, another Better Mobility recommendation.
His policy paper on 21st Century Transportation and Environment for Philadelphia states his intention is to work on:
- Building 30 miles of protected bike lanes, increasing the paving budget by at least $10 million over the next 10 years and making roads across the city safer for all Philadelphians.
- Working with the Streets Department to continue implementation of the 2012 Pedestrian/Bicycle Plan.
- Implement at least 15 miles of new bike lanes per year.
- Creating a Complete Streets Office to enforce regulations and coordinate with other department to uphold a ‘dig-once’ policy.
We thank Mayor-elect Kenney for making these these commitments and look forward to working with him when the new administration, Commissioner gets started in January.
Town Halls
Next week, the Kenney team is holding five town halls to hear from the public about their ideas for the new administration.
- Nov. 30: Philadelphia Neighborhood Town Hall; Central High School
- Dec. 1: Philadelphia Neighborhood Town Hall; South Philadelphia High School
- Dec. 2: Philadelphia Neighborhood Town Hall; School of the Futures
- Dec. 3: Philadelphia Neighborhood Town Hall; Mayfair Community Center
- Dec. 4: Philadelphia Neighborhood Town Hall ; Strawberry Mansion High School
Be Heard
We encourage interested persons to attend and make your voice heard to support Mayor-elect Kenney’s campaign commitments, and to raise additional recommendations.
- Enhance accessibility to public transit
- Ensure access to bike share
- Build 25 miles of Circuit Trails
- Improve the walkability of streets and sidewalks
- Enliven Philadelphia’s streets by creating an open streets program
- Manage on-street parking for efficient and effective use
Links
If you need a refresher on the Better Mobility Agenda, or Vision Zero, you can find those reports on our website:
When the Vision Zero and anti-car agenda leads to more crashes and a lot of agitation for all parties involved, who will stand up and take the blame? Europe failed with all this, so do we need to repeat their goof ups here?