Washington Avenue Repaving and Improvement

This transformative road reconfiguration project demonstrates Philadelphia’s commitment to putting safety first when revitalizing its busy corridors.

Location

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Client

City of Philadelphia Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (OTIS)

Project Status

Completed

WSP worked closely with the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems and Streets Department to develop a robust data collection program that enabled data-driven transportation decisions for the Washington Avenue corridor. The project’s primary goal was to improve safety and operations along the busy Washington Avenue corridor, which is part of the city’s Vision Zero High Injury Network. This street redesign has enhanced mobility for all roadway users by creating safer and shorter pedestrian crossings, separating bicyclists from moving traffic, introducing traffic calming measures and reducing instances of illegal parking and loading.

Traffic data was collected at 25 signalized intersections and parking data was collected over four days. WSP also conducted speed and delay studies to quantify the operational impacts of poor parking and loading zone management on all street users. img-washington-ave-bike-lane

Protected bike lanes were installed to provide an All Ages & Abilities facility. Buffers were designed with sufficient room to load and unload a pallet in this historically industrial corridor. An extensive business outreach resulted in location-specific design changes.

Following the data collection, WSP worked with a diverse set of stakeholders to develop and analyze street reconfiguration alternatives. These options were designed to improve safety and mobility for all users through the addition of protected bike lanes, shorter pedestrian crossings, improved signal operations, enhanced bus stops and better management of parking and loading operations.

WSP developed proposed street cross-section options and intersection concept plans, studied travel patterns and modeled existing and proposed traffic operations. During the design phase, WSP supported the repaving project with traffic operational analysis, signal retiming diagrams, and final pavement marking and signage plans.

The diverse nature of Washington Avenue and its evolving land use composition required a thoughtful, inclusive and expansive public outreach campaign. Guided by weekly calls with a strategic outreach planning committee, WSP led implementation of a comprehensive public outreach effort consisting of dozens of meetings with neighborhood groups, an online survey, a physical mailing and support for a series of online project videos.

Following implementation of the road diet, WSP conducted an “after” study to compare pre- and post- installation conditions. The study analyzed the effects of the improvements on parking and loading occupancy/turnover, illegal parking instances, vehicular and bicyclist volumes, travel times, average speeds, vehicle queueing and yielding behavior between motorists and bicyclists at driveways.