The Hub 3/12/2021: Clean Air Council’s Weekly Roundup of Transportation News
City of Philadelphia: In a press release, Philadelphia’s streets Commissioner Carlton Williams announced that construction for the Frankford, Trenton, York Modern Roundabout Safety Improvement Project will begin on Monday, 3/15/2021. Full closure of the intersection is anticipated to extend through the summer of 2021, while construction is expected to be completed by Fall 2021. This $1.28 million project is being funded using Automated Red Light Enforcement (ARLE) funds. This is a much-needed improvement for traffic safety and an important Vision Zero project.
Next City: Every City has a different approach to reducing emissions in their transit system. For some, this may be achieved through hybrid fleets. San Francisco Muni’s transit fleet claims to be the greenest in North America. They currently have electric fleets combined with hybrids which they plan to convert into fully electric buses by removing the engines. Currently, these hybrids have GPS-controlled engines which shut off while traveling through areas with a high concentration of low-income population and poor air quality and run entirely electric. Other cities like the Twin Cities have been operating hybrid buses for almost 20 years. Reducing transportation emissions is important for reaching each cities’ climate goals, and as the electric bus industry makes important steps forward, transit agencies need to be ready to adopt them on a large scale in the coming years.
Billy Penn: The East Coast Greenway Alliance is working on creating a bike route that runs through the entire East Coast. They have relaunched their inaugural fundraiser which is a 130-mile group ride for 2 days from New York City to Philadelphia. Connecting the Mid-Atlantic region’s biking route needs a lot of work to be finished. We support building infrastructures that promote biking and walking as this can help cities reach their climate goals by lowering air pollution due to transportation. Philadelphia’s section of the ECG includes parts of the Delaware and Schuylkill River Trails, and will eventually include the Spring Garden Street Greenway and the Cobbs Creek Trail in Southwest Philadelphia when complete.
The Inquirer: From the $1.9 trillion Coronavirus Relief Package, Pennsylvania will receive about $1.28 billion for transit assistance, which includes $650 million for SEPTA. Funding for transit helps to prevent layoffs and disruption in services.
Streetsblog USA: The new COVID Relief Bill seems to be the most significant support the transit industry will receive since the pandemic. President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act was passed last weekend, with $30 billion intact for transit. Even though the bill provides more than the previous one, not everyone is 100% happy with it. But supporting public transit is essential to avoid service cuts and disruption of routes that residents rely on daily.
CityLab: Data from the National Safety Council shows a spike in the U.S traffic fatality rate. There were more traffic deaths in 2020, with emptier roads than normal. 42,060 people died last year which is 8% more than in 2019. Increased speed and reckless driving are components that lead to the increase in fatality rates. Philadelphia saw an increase in drivers’ speed of over 20% in comparison to 2019, and across the board, the city has seen an almost 80% increase in traffic fatalities for all modes.
Image Source: The Inquirer
