(JUNE 25, 2020 – PHILADELPHIA, PA) — Clean Air Council and Feet First Philly applaud City Council for passing bills 200351 and 200352. Expanding outdoor dining for Philly’s restaurants and permitting right of way closures including street parking is key to preventing the spread of COVID19 while businesses begin to open.
Both bills are extremely important. However, we strongly support bill 200352, permitting right of way closures. Without this bill, restaurants and businesses wouldn’t have access to extra space to ensure customers and pedestrians are able to maintain safe social distancing. Converting parking spaces and permitting expanded use of the parking lane will allow safe passage for pedestrians and ample room for outdoor seating.
Clean Air Council and Feet First Philly support these bills and other measures to use public space effectively to aid in the safe reopening of the region’s businesses. Read more about our Recovery Streets platform put together with 5th Square and the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.
We are aware that the city’s hospitality industry suffered tremendously from closures due to the public health emergency. Clean Air Council and Feet First Philly applaud the creative efforts restaurants have utilized to ensure that people are able to safely walk up to establishments they wish to patronize. We hope that the City of Philadelphia continues to match this creativity, and adopt new measures to rethink how our public space is used to benefit everyone.
Jennifer Dougherty, Chair of Feet First Philly – “These bills support both the economic and personal health of Philadelphians. Now is the time to reimagine our street space to allow for a healthier, more vibrant, and safer Philadelphia today and in the future.”
Joseph Otis Minott, Executive Director and Chief Counsel of Clean Air Council – “Allowing expanded outdoor dining is key to helping Philly’s diverse restaurant scene survive during the public health emergency. Bill 200352 is a big step in the right direction for better use of the city’s public space. These bills ensure that restaurants can use the public right of way to keep their staff and diners safe as the city begins to reopen.”
CONTACT: Ptah Gabrie pgabrie@cleanair.org 215-567-4004 x 127 for more information
Clean Air Council, Feet First Philly, 5th Square, and the Bicycle Coalition unveiled a Recovery Streets platform to serve as a roadmap to safely transform street space in Philadelphia during and as we recover from COVID19.
This plan gives a menu of options for the types of solutions that the city should implement in the months ahead. While we applaud the City for its initial move to close MLK Drive to vehicle traffic, there has been little progress toward creating areas where people can safely be outside, or to address concerns regarding pedestrian safety along routes to essential businesses. These solutions will be increasingly more important as we start to recover from the COVID19 pandemic.
As businesses reopen, if these measures aren’t put into place Philadelphia will suffer worse congestion and gridlock than pre-COVID, and damages to air quality, road safety, and equity will be greater than before.
States are beginning to ease stay at home orders, and people are eager to be outside for necessity during the hot summer months, but they need to be able to do so safely. Unfortunately, pedestrian fatalities are nearly 88 percent higher in 2020 than this time last year. That is why now is the right time for Philadelphia to invest in its residents and implement measures that reduce crashes and keep pedestrians out of harm’s way.
Philadelphia’s COVID19 recovery is a chance for the City to be a leader in this space and move toward the Mayor’s Vision Zero Goals. Please take the time to read our Recovery Streets platform to learn how we believe the City of Philadelphia can be a leader in COVID19 recovery. Click here to read our full platform then sign our petition in support.
