Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I think the Chairman adequately addressed the issue. But, again, that false sense of security that once existed there before the -- when it was not accessible to vehicle traffic, you -- I think of all the times I can remember possibly being hit by a motor vehicle, it was on the Transitway, because you got, again, that false 56 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 sense of security that you were in an area that was vehicular-free, and police cars, cabs -- one of the biggest problems was when people didn't realize that they weren't supposed to be on the Transitway, and then when they realized they were, they ran like, you know, they moved out quickly to get off the Transitway before being observed by police. And I have personally witnessed the problems with the right-hand turn there. And, again, I concur totally with the Chairman and Councilman Clarke on this issue. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. I think, you know, the intentions obviously were to stimulate and revitalize Chestnut Street, to bring more activity there. And in the process, I think, obviously, when you change things, you kind of create other problems for yourself and you have to figure out a way of getting around this. And I appreciate the fact that you're asking for more time; I just don't know if a year -- I think a year might be a little bit too much. But the irony of the whole thing is, 57 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 when Councilmember Clarke talks about loading zones, maybe we need to look at -- not the irony of it, but maybe we need to look at -- and I was always wondering we permit deliveries at certain hours in Center City. I mean, I take 13th Street in most mornings from South Philadelphia, and I'm constantly zigzagging in and out of where delivery trucks are, all along 13th Street, from Spruce Street as far north as Sansom, 'cause I generally turn up Sansom. So 13th Street, Chestnut Street are not unalike, they're very; right-hand turns are allowed on 13th Street. But the circumstances are very similar, and I suspect that it's the same thing on 11th Street, 12th Street, what have you. So maybe we need to look at, for another discussion, establishing delivery times. But the irony of the whole thing is, now that we have provided for parking on Chestnut Street for private vehicles, personal vehicles, the other issue I raised a couple months ago, which I have not been able to move forward on, is the handicapped parking: they take up approximately 60 to 70 percent of the spaces, so 58 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 that reduces the number of spaces for delivery trucks, which are short-term parking, as what is the purpose of metered parking in the first place. So, again, there are lots of other things going on out there that are probably creating this hazardous situation and this need to figure out, do we need to open up two lanes for travel as opposed to one. So cumulatively, we have to just look at this and figure out what do we eliminate or what do we add. I just, sitting here listening -- and I'll take the rest of the testimony in a minute. When you think about -- I'll give you a hypothetical. I'm driving in my car and I'm going west on Chestnut Street from the Schuylkill Expressway -- I'm sorry, going east on Chestnut Street, coming from the west going east on Chestnut Street. And I get to 18th Street and I want to go to 16th and Walnut, 16th and Walnut. If I were permitted to make a right-hand turn off of Walnut Street, I would be traveling four blocks: two blocks east -- three blocks: two blocks east to 16th, one block south to Walnut. Under the -- three blocks, right? 59 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 Under the present rules and regulations, I now have to travel twelve blocks east to Sixth, one block over to Walnut Street, and then twelve blocks west again to get to 16th and Walnut Street. Now, there are those who argue about the bus lane and the bike lane, but have we looked at the additional traffic that is now being placed on all of the streets as a result? Because it creates another bottleneck. The bottleneck used to be 18th Street; now the bottleneck, I guess, becomes Sixth Street. We just moved the one bottleneck from one location further east. And what about air pollution issues? That many more cars traveling approximately two and a half miles to go three blocks. There's something definitely wrong with this picture, in my mind, in my opinion. So there are a lot of other issues in addition to do we respect the right-hand lane, the south lane being for bikers and buses. Well, I think the bicycle people are air-quality advocates, as I am. So, you know, when you take one thing away, you may be making conditions worse.
So if we're all concerned that we want 60 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 people to use more public transportation and not use their personal vehicles -- and that's just going to be when people make up their mind to do that. But we are creating air pollution problems by keeping that many more vehicles on the street for that much more time -- in the best-case scenario, when they're just moving and there's no 9 traffic jam-ups. But you know what Walnut Street gets like and you know what Sixth Street likes when you get to Sixth Street to make the right-hand turn for everybody who legally follows the rules and goes as far east at Sixth Street, so -- And then you have the problem with Jefferson Hospital: people can't turn into the emergency services. Ambulances could get away with it, but you or I, if legally we wanted to get someone to the emergency room, we would literally be forced to break the law. And I'm worried that someday someone may have someone in their car in an emergency situation, the police officer doesn't know it, pulls the car over to ask them for their identification, and the driver's trying to explain that they got to get to a hospital. The cop's 61 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 probably figuring they're just saying that because they wanted to avoid the ticket, and something happens to that person, I think we put ourselves in a really dangerous situation by making this prohibition as long as it is. There may be a compromise at some point too, where we can't do all of the streets, I don't know yet. But I just wanted to share that with you. There's a lot of things going on out here that I think need to be addressed. Any questions for this witness? Councilman Cohen?
If I may add something to the Chairman's statement about the right-turns (inaudible) the Walnut Street retail establishments to have free access to Walnut Street from Chestnut Street. Often you have to ride east on Chestnut Street to a street that goes south to get to the Walnut Street.
It's two and a half miles. If I -- I'll just briefly say it. If 62 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 I was driving east on Chestnut, when I get to 18th, if I wanted to go to 16th and Walnut, I now have to go two and a half miles (25 blocks), which in city terms is about two and a half miles, to get to 16th and Walnut 'cause I have to travel east to Sixth Street, which is blocks, and then 8 come back another 12 blocks to 16th, as opposed to 9 the three blocks if I were permitted to make the 10 right-hand turn off of Chestnut Street from 18th 11 to 16th. So -- 12
You know, that's absolutely true. I know at the beginning of the week, I had an appointment at Wills Eye Hospital, and I had to go east on Chestnut till I could find the proper street to cut south, you know, to be able to get to Walnut and then come back to Walnut to Eighth and Walnut where Wills Eye Hospital is. I think there's got to be some method of having free access to Walnut Street at every level or you're going to have a big outcry from the Walnut Streets merchants.
We already are crying. 63 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
Oh, oh, okay, I'm glad to hear that. They knew about it real early and I think they're doing the right thing by making it clear. We've got to find the answer to it.
And the Avenue of the Arts too, it restricts the Avenue of the Arts access. Thank you. Are there any other questions for this witness? (No further questions.)
The next line of witnesses, please come forward. And as you come to the table, for those of you who have not been here before, please identify yourself for the record and spell your last name for the stenographer, please. (Witnesses come forward.)
Good afternoon. My name is Paul Levy, and I'm the Executive Director of the Center City District. I want to thank Councilman DiCicco and Councilman Clarke for holding this 64 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 hearing. What I'd like to do -- I've already distributed, I believe, copies of my testimony -- is offer what I think are seven very good reasons why City Council should authorize right turns on Chestnut Street. First of all, as I think this conversation just went on, when you post rules on a street that exists no other place in the City, I think you create a confusion, which is unnecessary. We are trying to attract tourists to the City, we're trying to welcome the parents of people who go out to the University out in West Philadelphia, and we have now posted a no-right-turn the entire length of street, which creates confusion and requires us to use the police officers, who should be enforcing the no-parking by all of the delivery trucks, to be pulling people over on Chestnut Street, pulling them over for making this turn. I guess the simple question is, do we want our police officers in "the place that loves you back" to tell people exactly what you just said: No, I'm sorry, you need to go all the way 65 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 to Sixth Street in order to get to Walnut Street. Second, as I think came up in the earlier discussion, the police are right now tied down enforcing this no-right-turn. We need to free them up to prohibit the illegal parking that is going on by the delivery vans. I am certainly a major supporter of having commerce in this city, but what is going on is those delivery vans are parking there all day, they are taking their parking ticket as the cost of doing business, they're getting one ticket, and they're sitting there all day. We need the police officer to tell them simply to move. They are not serving the businesses on Chestnut Street; they are using it as a very inexpensive parking lot to go to Market Street and to go to Walnut Street. I think a much more important key issue is, number 3, Sansom Street is where we have put the parking. We have a zoning code that prohibits a lot of parking on both Chestnut and on Walnut Street. There are 2000 parking spaces on Sansom Street between 20th and Seventh Street; that is 12 percent of the parking supply that we have south of Market Street. We are now telling people 66 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 driving into Center City that they can't get to the parking that we've zoned and put onto Sansom Street. Third, as Councilman DiCicco has already said, we are creating a real-life safety issue by not allowing people to get to the emergency room at Thomas Jefferson Hospital. Whatever money we have put into Chestnut Street, we have put ten times as much into the Avenue of the Arts, and to say that we're not going to have people be able to turn right to the get to the Regional Performing Arts Center and all the other theaters make no sense. But I want to get to the arguments that we're going to hear the rest of this afternoon, and that is that if we're going to try to preserve the remnants of a failed transitway, we're going to fail again. Those who are here to defend the status quo and say that we want SEPTA buses to move as quickly as possible on the street I think are making a huge mistake. Clearly, when you have a dedicated transitway on a highway, you want buses to move at 30 to 40 miles an hour. To encourage buses to go at 30 to 35 miles an hour 67 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 down Chestnut Street is exactly counter to what we need on safe vehicular and pedestrian streets in Center City. This is not progressive planning, this is turning the cars and street back over to high-speed buses. We do have a dedicated transit lane on a very wide street; it's called Market Street. There is no reason why Market Street can't provide those transit-only lanes.
As I think, Councilman, you, yourself said, Chestnut Street used to close down at night. The proof of the failure of that previous plan is there was not a single restaurant or business opened after 5 o'clock on Chestnut Street until the street was liberated, and cars and people were returned. We now have restaurants opening up on that street, we have a thriving street, we have people living upstairs, we are restoring the tax base. And now to, I think, the most interesting point. Placing buses and bicycles in the same lane makes no sense at all. Bicycles are a very energy-efficient way of commuting to work. But I will tell you, as having participated in 68 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 this process, there was no planning whatsoever to pick Chestnut Street as a bicycle route. This was chosen because someone in the last City administration knew that buses and bicycles were very high priorities for federal funding, and they thought they would be clever by saying, Let's put buses and bicycles together and we'll get some federal funding. That's what we did, it's that same thinking that got us a failed transitway for years. 12 I will ask a very simple question: Do 13 bicyclists only ride east in Philadelphia? We 14 have a dedicated eastbound route, we have a 15 dedicated route to go in that direction. Are they 16 all on Penn's Landing, or do they find other ways 17 to come back? 18 My point is more serious than that. 19 Philadelphia needs thoughtful planning for bicycle 20 routes. There are many less traffic streets in 21 Center City, such as Locust, Spruce or Pine, which 22 would be much safer and saner routes for bicycles 23 to go in either direction. There is not a 24 bicyclist in their right mind who proceeds forward 25 at 15 miles an hour on a bicycle that weighs 40 69 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 pounds who wants a 39,000-pound SEPTA bus behind them at miles an hour. That is a formula for 4 failure, it is a formula for unsafety. 5 Clearly, the bicycle coalition is not 6 supporting Chestnut Street because it's ideal 7 bicycle planning; it's because they believe they 8 have a half a loaf and they feel symbolically if 9 it's taken away, they will never get anything back 10 again. The Center City District, therefore, will 11 place again on the table an offer we've made 12 before: that we will help fund the type of 13 bicycle transportation planning that really needs 14 to happen we can so pick the same routes -- the 15 same routes -- so that people can commute sanely 16 to work on their bicycles. 17 I will tell you very quickly, without 18 reading the details, we did a survey in the last 19 week of bus, bicycle, pedestrian, and car movement 20 on Chestnut Street. You have that in my 21 testimony. I will simply say that if City Council 22 is interested in doing the best thing for the 23 largest number of people, you should know that 24 there are 40 times as many bus riders as there are 25 bicycle riders on Chestnut Street, there are 22 70 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 times the number of car drivers as there are bicyclists. So if we're going to do the greatest good for the greatest number, we need to look at buses first, cars second, and find a much saner place for bicycles. I should also tell you that we've looked at SEPTA's information and gotten their ridership information. Typically, they have 5,000 riders a day on buses on Chestnut Street; 37 percent of them are during the morning rush hour. Maybe there's a compromise here that we have a dedicated transit lane when 40 percent of the riders are coming in at morning rush hour. Think about the routes on Chestnut Street; they're inbound routes, they're not outbound routes from the City. There are any number of sensible ways. We welcome the offer of the Managing Director's office to do something sane here. But the Center City District strongly supports opening right turns on the street to support businesses.
We believe there's an appropriate place for buses and for bicycles, but to try to do all in one place is a formula for failure. 71 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 Thank you very much.
Where did everybody go? Any questions? Is there a committee here? (No questions.)
Thank you. Your testimony, as usual, is always very eloquent and very informative.
I think what may happen as a result of today's hearing is, I may want to create one of those little task that I normally put together and, obviously, I will reach out to you, Mr. Levy.
And see if we can't figure out something, and I really appreciate your willingness to look at alternative bike lanes in the Center City Special Services District, and I believe we can find something 72 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 that, for me, is much more safe than what goes on out there today.
It has always been for me an issue of public safety as well as making it more convenient for automobile drivers to commute throughout Center City. Again, thank you for your testimony.
I'll leave it up to the folks who are up there to decide who's first and second. And, again, just identify yourself for the record and spell your last name.
My name is Donald Nigro, N-I-G-R-O. I'm President of the Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers, and I'm here speaking on behalf of the organization. Before I get to my prepared testimony, Mr. Chairman, I'd like to address the example that you cited, traveling eastbound Chestnut and you're at 18th Street. I would think that if somebody would need from that location to get to 15th or 16th and Walnut, the thing to do would be to make 73 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 a left turn at 18th Street or at 16th Street and go to Market Street, and then cut over to Walnut Street. There are -- I don't see the need to go all the way down to Sixth Street or to cross Broad Street.
I'd like to respond to that. That's if someone knows their way around the City. I mean, I get letters from people who we are trying to attract to come to this city. I got a letter from a lady who lived in New Jersey, came to the City because she wanted the experience of Philadelphia. She heard about renaissance going on downtown. She came to the City to have dinner. She was on Chestnut Street, unfamiliar with Chestnut Street. It's foreign territory to her. She was lost, basically lost, couldn't find her way south. And it's just not -- it isn't just about Walnut Street, by the way. I used that as an example because that was the closest street south of Chestnut. If you want to take it further, you can go as far south as you want. If you want to get to Spruce, you want to get to Locust, you want to get to Washington Avenue, it's 74 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 the same conditions that apply. She was issued a citation because she made a right-hand turn off of Chestnut Street in a panic, basically. She was very anxious because the further east she got, the more she felt that she was lost. She got a ticket. She is never coming back to Philadelphia again, because she went to the restaurant, paid an exorbitant amount of money to park her car legally and then gets whacked with a $75 ticket for turning right off of Chestnut Street. That is not a an isolated case. It happens many times, because I'm only citing one letter. I've gotten many letters, and I get letters from people who own restaurants, when their customers walk in and say, It took me an hour to get here, I'm sorry I'm later for my reservation, and in the process, I got a ticket to come to your restaurant to eat 'cause I couldn't find the damn place. And that's the kind of stuff that we hear.
Well, if I may say, I think your point about visitors is an excellent one, and perhaps maybe the solution is clearer signage. In 75 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 other words, make left turn to go right. But the Delaware Valley --
Make a left-turn to go right to where? I mean, the signage is going to say, If you want to get to Le Bec Fin, make a right here, but if you want to go to Tre Stalini, go three blocks south, make a right, travel ten blocks south to Tasker, and then make a left. You know, get real. Getting to Walnut Street may be easy for some people, but for someone who doesn't know, and they want to get to a specific place on Walnut Street, there's not enough room for the signage that you would need to direct them properly.
And neither am I, but be realistic. If you've traveled to other cities or out into the country and you're looking for a place of destination, it's difficult, and all of the signage in the world sometimes doesn't help you get there.
Perhaps maybe the question could be put to our traffic department. 76 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 The Delaware Valley Association of Rail Passengers urges the City of Philadelphia to strictly stick to its commitment on how the bike transit lane would be used. We urge the City to recognize that high levels of automobile traffic deteriorate the experience of walking and shopping the streets of Center City. All one needs to do is compare what -- how pleasant it is to walk Center City at 10, o'clock on Sunday morning 11 compared to other times. Adding capacity to Center City streets induces traffic and ultimately increases congestion on the streets. Center City is served by an extensive network of transit lines. This network is capable of carrying many more passengers and could be made to be made much more attractive for people to travel to Center City. SEPTA's commuter rail system is the slowest in the country. Philadelphia's buses, unlike those in most other major cities, lurk along with delays caused by one passenger stop at every block rather than at every other block; and, two, the operators' refusal to adequately encourage passengers to exit from rear so that people can 77 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 immediately board at the front. We urge that the southern lane of Chestnut Street be kept exclusively for bikes and transit. Please do not fall into trap of applying the City Line Avenue mobility improvement techniques to Center City. Thank you.
Hi. I'm Sarah Borden. I'm General Manager of Rittenhouse Row. My last name is B-O-R-D-E-N. Rittenhouse Row is a marketing destination firm that's nonprofit and membership- based, and we promote the area from Broad Street to 21st Street, between Spruce and Market Streets. Our membership consists of over 265 retail, restaurant and corporate members. Our interest in this bill -- there's two major reasons: One is the employees of these merchants commute into the City; not all of them, but a majority of them do commute in. And their parking is on Sansom Street. If they come in from the Schuylkill, come down Chestnut, again, it's a 78 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 roundabout way to have to reach the parking garages on Sansom Street, and the no-right-turn rule is a problem for them. Also, in just finding parking spots, moving around the City, driving to the City, it is a hindrance to getting to particular places that you need to be, whether you know your way around or not. Secondly, our organization, we promote that area. We bring in visitors, we bring in people to go to our restaurants, to shop at our stores, to go to the spas and salons, and they are not familiar with the area. They have a difficult time getting to our members' facilities. And for these two reasons, we definitely support allowing right turns off of Chestnut Street.
Thank you. Any questions for this witness? (No questions.)
Hi. My name is Sue McNamara. I'm the director of the Bicycle Coalition of the Delaware Valley. The Bicycle 79 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 Coalition has 2,000 dues-paying members but also we also represent thousands of Philadelphians who bicycle for choice or economic necessity. When Chestnut Street was created -- when the current design that Bob Wright talked about was created, it was a compromise. And we -- The whole compromise was completed less than three months ago, and as a compromise, everyone had to give up something, so -- and we understand that with 3,000 miles of streets, this was the only mile -- this was the only part of the street where cars weren't allowed free rein, as they are in our other 3,000 miles of streets. And we compromised and everybody says, Well, you're sharing it with the bikes and the buses, and how does that feel? So I'll talk a little bit about, 'cause that wasn't what I was going to originally talk so much about. But bike/bus lanes are not an uncommon thing. Yes, they're not the best thing, but we have a tight, constricted city where we all have to share a very limited cartway, and so how do you best do that in? In some cases, a dedicated bike lane certainly is the optimum thing that we are 80 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 looking for 'cause traffic-calm streets, we'd love to see more traffic-calm streets. We'd love to -- in order to get some of these things, we'd have to remove parking, something that's been an extreme issue and something very hard to get through the City. So I would like, if we're putting all of things on the table, let's entertain removing some of the on-street parking, especially as we continue to build parking garage after parking garage, and try and move some of this parking into the garages. But the other thing, the bike/bus lane is -- it's used all over. I just came from Paris, where I rode a bike around Paris for a week. They effectively use bike/bus lanes everywhere in that city. And they were big, I didn't feel -- even though I didn't even speak the language and it wasn't my country, I didn't feel dangerous on a bike/bus lane. It can be used if we make people comfortable with it, we maintain it. It's far more dangerous to have the cars moving in and out of the bike/bus lane when you don't expect them than to know that you have a bus lane -- all you're fending off is buses. I 81 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 think, actually, the red design of the bike/bus lane is really a positive thing, making a visual separation between that and the driving lane is really helpful. Myself, I'm a more experienced cyclist but I actually feel very comfortable in that lane. Less experienced cyclists are going to feel comfortable in it. It is on the bike network plan, so it is a part of the network of streets that we are trying to create, which is 300 miles of bike networks. One of the reasons that I was told that this hearing was held was to provide access to garages, is that true, access to a few garages on Sansom Street? It was sone of the difficulties. In the mailing that I got from Councilman Nutter's office, it said that it was looking at this to provide access to parking garages on Sansom Street. And, clearly, that was one of the things that kind of offended us a lot, that access to parking garages and access to things for private automobiles are sort of being considered over the mobility of people who may not have access to a private automobile and may not have that choice, 82 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 people in transit who, many times, can't afford a private automobile, and seeming the weight the needs of a few against the needs of many, many who don't have a voice of their own, or not as strong a voice certainly as businesses. And really quickly, I just also wanted to commend the Streets Department and the Mayor's Office of Transportation for trying something new.
So often in Philadelphia, and especially in our Streets Department with traffic engineering, we never try anything new. We hold on to these things that were, like created in the '60s, and we fail to address new traffic engineering ideas. And here they go, they try something new and they give it a shot, and it took them like less than three months and they're already being called to task for it. And we want to applaud them for thinking ahead, we want to encourage them to do more thinking-ahead things and not to do less and not feel like they're going to get bitten every time they do something that's forward-thinking. And I guess that's just -- I did want to address the thing that you also said about the, you know, that the bicyclists with air quality 83 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 should want people driving around less. It sort of goes back to an old axiom that people often say, you know, you don't solve being overweight with loosening your belt buckle. And Don touched on it. If we allow more cars on Chestnut Street, everybody has proven in planning that that just makes more cars into Center City. It doesn't really -- eventually, that gets clogged up and it doesn't mean -- because people know they can travel freely there, then they do, and then that creates congestion. So in the end, the ultimate -- it may not be tomorrow, but in five years, the air quality is worse because the traffic is more clogged. I think that we have so many cars in Center City and we're not doing much to address limiting cars in Center City; we're just sort of doing things to address adding more cars in Center City. And that's not what forward-thinking cities are doing. Forward-thinking cities are looking at limiting cars, they're looking at limiting parking, they're looking at, not having so much on-street parking, adding more bikes, adding more 84 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 pedestrians. And that, it's proven, attracts tourists, and it attracts people to spend their money. People don't go to Europe to sit in an automobile; they go to stroll in pleasant streets. And by accommodating the car as king, we have to start looking at other ways of doing this. And this was a first step, and I think we should continue that. I would agree with Bob, let's give it a year and then recompromise. We're not totally against recompromising; we just want it to be a compromise, not just, Okay, well, the cars want this, let's give it to them. Thank you for letting me speak.
Thank you. I've been to Italy three times, and it's a cultural thing, people do walk. And people don't eat inside, most people want to eat out on the sidewalks at restaurants, at outdoor cafes. It's just a cultural things.
But I think that Americans, given that opportunity, would want that too. 85 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
I don't believe -- at least it's not my intention -- to remove the bike/bus lane from Chestnut Street, my intentions were not to encourage more cars to come. That very well may happen, but that's not my intention. I mean, you heard Paul Levy. I've been willing to work with the Bicycle Coalition 'cause I ride a bike. I don't take it to work because, to be perfectly honest, I just can't do it because of the nature of my job. But I drive a bike. I'm on Columbus Boulevard and I'm frightened to death. There's a bike lane there. But there are many streets in the City, and I don't know if there are other areas where we have bike/bus lanes. Is Chestnut Street the only bike/bus lane that we --
Actually, Market Street is a bike/bus lane and Walnut Street is a bike/bus lane, but those nobody even notices 'cause they're not red.
But I ride on the streets and I always wondered -- I mean, you drive on 11th Street since we removed the trolley lines where I live, between Wharton and Bainbridge, on 86 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 the north side of Washington Avenue, in both directions, going north and south, there's a bike lane. There's no bike lane south of Washington Avenue, it ends. And you're always interacting with traffic. So we don't have these exclusive lanes, and I know that's what we attempted to do on Chestnut Street, but it's not working, and I don't know if a year will make it any different. I think in three short months we have already experienced some of the problems that unintentionally may have been created. I applaud the Administration, the previous administration, for looking for alternatives, for trying to create a more pedestrian-friendly environment. They tried it in 1976 -- it didn't work -- when they created the Chestnut Transitway. I really think that the best solution for us is to look for an alternative route -- Spruce Street, Locust Street, what have you, that Paul Levy mentioned, and create a bike lane on those streets. I just don't think it will ever work properly on Chestnut Street. That's my opinion . 87 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
And maybe we can convince SEPTA to put bicycle racks on their buses on Chestnut Street so that when you get to 18th, you could put the bike on the bike rack and maybe have a discounted or free transportation east to Sixth Street.
Yeah, that's a whole 'nother issue, which I could discuss with you outside, but --
I would certainly support putting a bike lane bike lane on Spruce Street or Sansom Street, but you'd have to remove a lane of traffic, that's the only way of doing it, or a parking lane, both of which are incredibly unpopular. And if we have the support of Council and they want to push this through and try that, hey, we'll be there for you and we'll do everything we can, but that's a major political battle.
We'll see. My 88 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 chief of staff's saying, what about the bikes that don't stay in bike lane? We -- that's enforcement, but we won't get into that one. You know, those are the things we can put on the table for when we convene with the task force in a couple of weeks. I'll notify the appropriate people to sit at those meetings. Thank you for your testimony. Councilman Clarke?
Did you say that there's currently a bike/bus lane on Market Street?
On Market Street and on Walnut Street, according to the signage. You can't --
How does that work currently, as it relates to the ability to --
Those two don't work at all. 89 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
And it's because people drive in the lane or is it because of the right turn?
I think it's more because of people driving in it. I would say that Walnut Street is probably the most intimidating street in town for a cyclist simply because of the volume of traffic and with the buses. Market Street is less intimidating on the north side 'cause you have three lanes, two travel lanes with the one bus lane; more intimidating on the south side because there's one travel lane and one bus lane.
But it doesn't really -- it's not the right turn only?
Is there any way to make right turns on Walnut and Market Street?
Well, yeah. But because you have cars -- actually, what we're not -- what we're opposed to, it's not so much that there are 90 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 right turns, that people are turning right; it's that they're staging themselves in that lane to turn right. So it's not particularly the turn itself; it's the moving over into the lane.
But the answer to the question is, you can make a right-hand turn off of Market; you can't make a left. (Unintelligible, parties talking over each other.)
Yeah, it's -- and Market Street also has the issue that the surface is horrible for bicycles 'cause it's really bumpy because of the buses, but that's a whole 'nother issue.
Okay. I'm just trying to get some clarity because, you know, you implied that Market and Walnut Street, with the exception of the people illegally driving in those lanes, if it were not for that, those would be streets that, you know, would be something that could live with as it relates to bicycle traffic. But you didn't indicate it had anything to do with the right-hand turns; it's more the people driving 91 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 illegally or queueing up in the lanes that create the problem, not the right-hand turns.
No, it's the -- yeah, it's people traveling illegally in the bus/bike lane.
Because if somebody is making a right turn, they have to stage themselves into that right lane before they turn. So they're coming from the left travel lane into the right lane to turn.
But I'm saying that -- but you're saying that -- is that what they do on Market Street?
Yeah. Market Street's horrible; I'm saying Market Street's horrible.
But you said it was horrible because of the people driving in the lane.
Because of the amount of 92 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 traffic and the people driving in the lane. Yeah, no one pays attention to the bus lane on Market Street or Walnut Street; they pay attention to it more, though not enough, on Chestnut Street.
So if there was a way that people wouldn't queue up far back in the street --
If they queued up closer to the corner, like maybe two cars --
I mean, I think that the red street is a good step towards the less queueing up in the lane.
Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Clarke. My name is Catharine Ryan, 93 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 R-Y-A-N, and I am here to represent Thomas Jefferson University and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. And I apologize if some of the things I say really are repetitions, but I think it's important to state the Hospital's and the University's position on this right-hand turn situation. We obviously support the opening of Chestnut Street to vehicular traffic. I think it's been beneficial to both the City and merchants, but we vehemently oppose the restriction on right-hand turns, particularly at Tenth Street. The entrance to Jefferson's emergency department at is at Tenth and Sansom. Persons traveling on Chestnut Street literally pass the hospital and have to go a circuitous route down to Sixth Street, then to Spruce, then to Ninth, and finally to Sansom in order to cross Chestnut and access the emergency department. Now, if you know the City, it's frustrating. And, as Mr. DiCicco said, if you don't know the City, as the vast majority of patient and visitors who are coming to Jefferson, it's an arduous situation, it's agonizing. 94 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 I happen to be the director of the patient services department at Jefferson, which is primarily the complaint department, among other things, and I can assure you that I don't get only a few complaints about getting to the hospital and access to the hospital. Obviously, the whole issue of the parking on Chestnut Street is also an incredible situation. My office fronts on Chestnut Street, between Tenth and 11th. If I open the curtains and look out, it is virtually a parking lot on many, many days at certain times of the days. Between the cars that are parked and the trucks loading and delivering, the buses and the cars and the cyclists all travel in single lane. I also use short-term parking -- offsite parking at Delaware Avenue that Jefferson now provides, and I ride a shuttle every night down Chestnut Street. And as late as 5 and 6 o'clock at night, cars are still in the right-hand lane because of the incredible traffic and the delivery trucks. Another practical and logistical situation and consideration that we ask you to think about is the movement of traffic from 95 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 Jefferson's valet parking operation at 11th and Sansom. I also happen to be responsible for that particular service. Last year, we moved 90,000 cars; this year, we expect to move close to 100,000 cars, and we have to do that onto 11th Street. Because we can't turn onto Chestnut because we can't turn right from Chestnut, the drivers are forced to go to Market, then down Chestnut Street. And if you ever go to 11th Street, you'll recognize that it's probably the most congested street in Center City.
You're saying they're traveling north on 11th to Market, east on Market to Tenth, and then back south on Tenth to get to Tenth and Chestnut.
Right, to get to Tenth, because our lot is located -- the entrance on Tenth Street. So it's just a horrendous situation on a daily basis.
So 100,000 more vehicles are traveling between Chestnut and Market, 11th to 10th, and Market to Chestnut that would normally have turned onto Chestnut to go one block east of Tenth. 96 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
Yes. And our drivers do, on occasion, make that right-hand turn on Chestnut Street, and then they make a right-hand turn on Tenth and they get ticketed like everybody else. The police and the parking maids are routinely ticketing drivers. And I tell you that I get letters, I get telephone calls, I get walk-ins, and people are not happy. As recently as yesterday afternoon, because there was so much congestion surrounding the hospital on 11th Street -- you know, we get blocked up at Market and even beyond Market. You get one car through the lights, so sometimes it can take our valet driver as long as 40 minutes on a really bad day to make a circle and to get the to parking lot. The police closed our valet parking operation yesterday. It's not the first time that it's happened. And, therefore, patients coming into the hospital were just shooed away, they weren't even able to access an empty drive-through 97 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 yesterday at about o'clock. 3 We, therefore, ask you to strongly consider the passage of this bill, and we support it 110 percent.
Thank you. And thank you for your testimony. Next witness? Good afternoon. Please identify yourself for the record. Push that little black button.
My name is Dennis Winters, and I am a transportation policy analyst with the Clean Air Council. The Clean Air Council is a membership-supported nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to protecting everyone's right to breathe clean air. The Council works through public education, community advocacy and oversight of the government to ensure enforcement of environmental laws. I want to thank City Council for holding this hearing on Bill No. 000547 regarding the Chestnut Transitway. The Clean Air Council is disappointed in the short notice given on this 98 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 hearing and that it had to learn of the hearing via the grapevine. Given the extent to which the Clean Air Council has been involved with Chestnut Street over the last few years through correspondence, testimony, and public statements, it does not seem unreasonable to expect some sort of more formal notification. The Clean Air Council also sent a letter with several attachments concerning Chestnut Street and this bill to Councilman DiCicco on September 27th. That correspondence included a request for a meeting with the Councilman to discuss the nature of this bill. The Council not here to say we told you so. It was apparent to all at the time that the compromises all users of Chestnut were being asked to make would fall heaviest on transit users, pedestrians, and bicyclists. With Philadelphia's continuing non-enforcement of most traffic laws, many people fully expected Chestnut's new design to fail. The Clean Air Council is curious about the status of Philadelphia's Transit First policy. Lifting the prohibition on right turns 99 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 off of Chestnut Street eviscerates the dedicated nature of the right-hand bus and bicycle lane. Buses will be locked in traffic with automobiles, and any advantages that buses should have in that lane will be lost for good. A considerable investment of federal public transportation dollars will have been squandered on a facility that accommodates automobiles to the detriment of all other modes. The Federal Transit Administration can and should ask that its considerable investment be returned. The Clean Air Council has seen newspaper articles saying that the right turns are needed to get motorists to the existing and new parking garages on Sansom Street. Forget that the new garages are being built in spite of existing City plans that calls for them only north of Chestnut Street, forget that reactionary ordinances and special interests-serving zoning decisions have replaced well thought-out comprehensive city planning that involves the entire community. Philadelphia's status as a world-class city is being seriously undermined by its 100 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 obsequious accommodation of automobiles in Center City. While cities all over the United States and abroad are reducing and restricting access of the car to the central business district, Philadelphia, in spite of ad advantages of its colonial street grid structure, is heading down the wrong path. SEPTA's transit division bus fleet serves a large segment of the City's low-income population and people of color. Eliminating the advantage buses have on Chestnut Street, therefore impairing access to Chestnut Street and Center City by improving the street for only motorists, may signal the discriminatory move that raises serious environmental justice issues. Clean Air Council believes that all traffic laws require enforcement, particularly in an era where the lack of enforcement jeopardizes equal access and safety. But there are very good reasons for not abandoning this concept this early, if at all. Clean Air Council also believes there are ways to make the present Chestnut Street design work, including some creative ways to aid 101 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 enforcement. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss them with this committee prior to reporting this bill to the full Council.
I have attached Clear Air Council's prior statements and testimony on Chestnut Street for your review. Those items include: our letter of September 27th to Councilman DiCicco; our testimony before City Council in June of 1998 on Chestnut Street; the Clean Air Council's position on Chestnut Street of April 8, 1998; and copies of letters to Councilman DiCicco on March 27, 1998 concerning Chestnut and Sheldon Kimbar, regional administrator of the FTA, in March. And then I've been writing like crazy to some of the remarks I've heard. And if I can, I would like to say a couple of other things -- ad-lib a couple of other things. First of all, it seems to the Clean Air Council that at present, the Chestnut Street Transitway is not operating as designed and it isn't finished. In a meeting with the City's Streets Department and the Department of Transportation, we were told that the parking meters would be smart meters. We were told that 102 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 there would be enforcement of existing traffic ordinances, and until that happens, you can't judge the effectiveness of the transmit mall. At least those two things have to be tried. If it requires additional money to have that enforcement of traffic laws, then so be it. That should be a priority for the Council. Finally, if you want to see a world-class transit mall, I just happened to have attended Rail-Volution, a public transportation conference in Denver a week ago. The 16th Street transmit Mall is exactly how a transit mall is supposed to operate, folks. And it's marvelous and it's a boon to business, rather than a detriment. If you do things right the first time, you don't have to keep redesigning them every twenty years. " If you will read our testimony on our position when we were given the opportunity to testify previously, you will see that we acknowledged and pointed out all of the existing problems that you're having. No 103 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 one listened to us then and, you know, I hope the Council and others listen a little better this time. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.
Thank you, Mr. Winters. I want to let you know that I never believed that this was going to be a success at the time either, for reasons different than yours, obviously. I believed that the prohibition of the right-hand turns would not get us to where we thought we needed to be in terms of revitalizing Chestnut Street. And I think in the best-case scenario, if we had the smart meters and we had the enforcement, the other issues that have been discussed and I've talked about earlier would still be existing. At Clean Air Council, you heard some of my comments. Putting an automobile through a two-and-a-half-mile additional distance to go -- to get to Point A to Point B, I certainly think adds to the problems of air pollution. And I'm not talking about one car; I'm talking about literally tens of thousands of cars a week. 104 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 In effect, I believe that what we have created on Chestnut Street is of a greater disadvantage to the Clean Air Council and the folks who are concerned abut that than if we were to allow right-hand turns, based on the examples that I have laid out here today.
Councilman, the advantages that Chestnut Street had for air quality was lost when cars were returned to it 11 hours a day. 12
But I don't know 13 if we have -- and maybe the Streets Department 14 needs to answer this. I don't know if the City of 15 Philadelphia, the core of Center City, has 16 realized any significant increase in vehicles 17 coming into the City because Chestnut Street has 18 been reopened. In my estimation -- and as someone 19 who spend a considerable amount of time in Center 20 City -- all we've done is remove the bottleneck at 21 18th and Chestnut and created two more additional 22 bottlenecks: one at Sixth and Chestnut, one at 23 11th and Market, and as a previous witness 24 testified to, the 100,000 cars a year that are being valeted out of Jefferson Hospital. 105 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 So I don't know if all of a sudden, people fond out that now I can ride down Chestnut Street, I'm going to start using my car to go to the City of Philadelphia. I don't think that is what happened. I don't have any statistics to prove otherwise, whether it did or not. I just don't believe, on my practical experience, being out there, walking a lot, that that has occurred. And it certainly was never my intention, or would be my intention, to encourage more vehicular traffic. I have been working for two years on a design to move people around that quadrant of Center City on the east side of Broad Street more effectively and efficiently by creating some more attractive means of public transportation. I have gotten SEPTA to agree and somewhat the DRPA and the Penn's Landing Corporation and everybody else to maybe put in a trolley system, a trolley system on a track, not the rubber tires.
So, understand, I'm not against bicyclists, I'm not against 106 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 dedicated bike lanes, if they work. I don't believe that they're working for the general public at large on Chestnut Street. That's all I'm saying. Thank you. Councilman Ortiz?
I think they don't work. I think they actually have made Chestnut Street an incredibly dangerous area for bike riders right now, the way it has been organized. I have staff, I have people who ride bikes into Center City, and when you go down on Chestnut Street, it's only one lane now for buses and the bike riders because the cars and the delivery trucks that park down Chestnut Street really make it only a one-lane travel again, and you have cars and buses and bicycles all going down the same lane. And so it's become a very dangerous place. And I was reading an article, I think it was in the New York Times, about actually that big cities are going and looking at bike lanes and -- as ways of breaking down congestion, and that this is something that is going on across many different urban areas. And I agree with you about Denver. 107 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 I've been to Denver a few times and I walked from one side of the street to the other. And then I came back the other way, stopping on the way to sit down and browse through the book stores and so on. It's an example of something that we should have looked at. And maybe it's because Denver is smaller in terms of population or whatever, but they put a lot of thought into that, and you see the commerce flourishing and the stores full of people and a lot of pedestrians and functions.
I just have to say one more thing. I cycle Chestnut Street every day and that's how I get around in Center City. And it is -- to me, it's a much safer place to be than most other places in the City for the simple reason -- if cars were out of there, it would be extremely safe because it's not difficult to stay a block ahead of a bus, they stop at every corner. And I'm not, as you can tell, a rather rapid cyclist, I don't speed. And it's my lane, it belongs to bicyclists and transit users, and that makes a difference. I have never been yelled at in the red lane, and that I cannot say about any other 108 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 street in the city. So if you somehow eliminate -- I mean, I remember the fight to get bikes back on Chestnut Street. I hope this does not deteriorate to a point where you eliminate cyclists' access to Chestnut Street.
I don't think that's the purpose; I think we got to increase them but make it safe.
Mr. Winters, before you leave, I just want to offer a hypothetical again. Let's just assume, for the purposes of this conversation, that the number of vehicles who use Center City, this corridor that we talk about, from Front to 22nd Street and Market to Walnut, hasn't increased as a result of the Chestnut Street Transitway opening up to vehicles. Let's just assume that the number of the cars are the same. Given the scenario I laid out, without getting from Point A to Point B, would you not agree that that contributes immensely to more -- adding to air pollution, because cars are on the street traveling a further distance now? I mean, 109 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 if I'm going --
But you and I know 9 -- we know the neighborhood. See, we're from the 10 'hood, we understand it. I'm talking about 11 people who aren't familiar with it, and that 12 happens every day probably hundreds, if not 13 thousands, of times a day. 14 Now, given the scenario that I laid out 15 of going from 18th and Chestnut to 16th and Walnut 16 adds an additional 25 blocks that the car is on 17 the street, not counting how many times it stops 18 for a red light, not counting about whether or not 19 -- not taking into consideration whether the car 20 is stuck in traffic jam. Normal flow. 21 Doesn't that increase the carbon 22 monoxide being emitted from automobiles immensely? 23 And if you multiply that hundreds or thousands of 24 times, according to the number of vehicles that 25 are on the street, isn't that more harmful to us? 110 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
Well, I mean, you're asking me to make a decision on a quantity I have no idea of.
Well, let me ask you, if your car idles for ten minutes or it idles for a half an hour, are you putting more pollutants in the air --
Most pollution from automobiles comes from when you turn the key to start it and when you turn it off at the end of the trip. That's where most of automobile pollution comes from.
So it doesn't matter then if cars are using the streets and if more cars come in because --
Because once they start, there's no additional air pollution going to.
Of course it matters, but the significance is -- I can't judge the significance of that.
Well, I'm not asking you to give me an expert evaluation. But I 111 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 think from a practical standpoint, if the car is running minutes longer, 15 minutes longer than 4 it would have because the person can get to Point 5 B quicker, is not that car contributing to more 6 air pollution that's being emanated into the air 7 than had it been able to get to 16th Street 8 quicker? 9
Why not put two signs 17 over the travel lanes at 20th Street that simply 18 say "Chestnut Transitway, no-right-hand-turns Next 19 14 Blocks"? Why not try that as a compromise? 20 Why is it always cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users that have to compromise? It's ridiculous.
Well, I think we're all trying to compromise, but thank you. I'm sorry, you have questions for 112 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 Mr. Winters? Councilman.
Thank you. How you doing, Mr. Winters? As you know, we've had several discussions about bicycles and pedestrian right of ways and thinks of that nature, and I'm glad to see you're here. I just want to clarify something on the western side of the Chestnut Transitway, the district that I represent. I asked Councilman DiCicco to incorporate the Broad Street intersection in this particular bill, but I did not incorporate the remainder of the intersections in the particular bill because I did want to have some discussion with the coalition and other individuals before we did that. I did Broad Street because it's clear to me, given the investment on the Avenue of the Arts South Broad, it makes no sense not to allow people to turn south on Broad Street. I mean, we've spent close to $300 million, given the Art PAC and all of the other additions that we've put down there, and it just doesn't make sense for us to not have people have an opportunity to turn down Broad Street. 113 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 But I will sit down with you and, you know, as I said, I'm willing to have some analysis done on the other intersections before, you know, we incorporate any amendments to this particular bill.
Well, we certainly -- Philly Walks and the Clean Air Council certainly wants to work with you and Councilman DiCicco on whatever task force there might be.
What's the theory? (Lost testimony here due to equipment power failure.)
At any rate, you know, you can discourage transit in steps. And I think what we have done -- we don't have the perfect transitway anymore, I don't think we had it in '98 when we started the project that gave us what we have today. I don't think it was done right in 114 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 '76. But if you move cars into that right-hand lane, you've totally eliminated any transit advantage to the lane. It would have been silly to paint it red.
All right, thank you. I was just interested in the theory. Incidentally, in the support for bike lanes, is any consideration given to whether or not bikes actually use the lanes? Or is it a general policy in the hope that ultimately, bike users will begin. I'm thinking of -- I frequently have to go up York Road into the Jenkintown area. And once I get to 66th Avenue, going north, there's a bike lane on York Road and it reduces -- it always -- there's a tremendous lineup of cars because what before was two lanes of traffic becomes one lane. And I live in that area and I've never once seen a bicycle rider at any time of the day or evening ever use that. And I was wondering, are there any studies as to use? Or is it a general policy in the hope of encouraging bicycle riders?
Well, I think because bicycles really have only gained the access that 115 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 they have lately -- that, is in the last two Federal Transportation bills -- that communities like Philadelphia are still experimenting and don't always know what will be best for cyclists. I think they are trying to use their best judgment based on what little operating experience they have to put them down in the right place, but I think the Streets Department would agree with you that there are places they put them down where they didn't work, and there are other places where they have people demanding they put them down. So, I'll tell you, as an experienced cyclist, I don't use lanes very much. The responsible cyclists have to obey all the laws Pennsylvania provides for motor vehicles, and I operate in the motor lane on the right-hand side, and I feel safer there usually than in some of the lanes that are down, only because I'm experienced enough. A novice cyclist probably needs the margin of safety that a bike lane might give them.
Thank you. Any other questions for this witness? (No further questions.)
Hi. My name is Jennifer Escorcia, E-S-C-O-R-C-I-A. I'm from the Bicycle Club of Philadelphia, I'm currently their secretary. And hopefully tonight, I'll be elected as the new president. Anyway I'm also here as a concerned citizen. I'm a bicycle commuter. I live up in Northeast Philly. I work at Temple University, and have to go to the post office on Chestnut Street to pick up the Bicycle Club mail, and I have to go home after that.
Could you really pull the microphone very closely. I'm having great trouble hearing you, even with hearing aids.
Okay. I travel from Northeast Philly -- 117 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
-- to Temple University,, that's where I work. And since I'm the bike club secretary, we have our post office box down on Chestnut Street, 21st and Chestnut. So I have a lot of experience with riding down Chestnut Street. And especially since we have the new transit lane since July, I have found it to be very accessible to bicycles. I'm also finding, though, that we have a real problem with enforcement right turns. I see pedestrians trying to walking across the numbered streets and almost getting run over by cabs making illegal right-hand turns. I think forward-looking cities, as the gentleman before me talked about, are trying to calm traffic down in our downtown area. It promotes people spending their money at shopping areas instead of going home and buying things on amazon.com and eddiebauer.com or going out to the King of Prussia Mall where they're not a pedestrian. I think the transitway is a good idea, but I think we ought to give it a try for a year. 118 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 I think that we should enforce the no-right-hand- turns. And the question to me, though, is there's always this question about all of this excess driving that's happening because of Chestnut, and I'm kind of confused. What happened when we couldn't drive cars on Chestnut Street, how did we go east?
Well, that's my point, ma'am, is that we haven't done it -- we haven't made the situation any better. We invested $15 million and we still have a lot of congestion. Opening Chestnut Street up to vehicular traffic was supposed to relieve that. I don't think we've accomplished much, and I said that earlier. I thought it was a bad idea in the beginning. Not that I'm suggesting we go back to the total elimination of vehicles, but we've just moved the bottleneck from one location to two other locations. And that's all I'm suggesting.
And so there's no other road that traffic can go west to east? It's just Chestnut Street for downtown?
No, you can go -- 119 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 but if you're not familiar with the area or -- I shop at Boyd's. If I drive to Boyd's and I want to go home, I would have to make a left on 18th Street to go to Market and then out Market east to wherever it is I'm going to make a right, but I know the neighborhood, I understand that. There are some folks who traditionally would think, If I get on Chestnut Street and I go east, I'll be able to turn right to go south. Many people don't understand that. And I don't know how you educate the world that Philadelphia has a street that is blocks long that you can 14 get on to drive but you can't get off for 14 blocks. I don't know how we educate the world about that.
I'm not being sarcastic, I just don't know. I mean, I don't know how you do it.
Sure. I think we're going to have to look at a lot of compromises here. It can't be all cars, it can't be all bicycles, it can't be all no-right-hand-turns. 120 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 Perhaps you can compromise and find several streets that you can make right turns on.
And I said that earlier. That may be a compromise, I'm not certain of that yet. And I don't know if that would still jeopardize the federal and state dollars that went into the reconstruction. You know, the feds don't always know what they're doing, they do make mistakes, I'm told. And with all good intentions, they give us money, but when they tie our hands and put restrictions on us, I wonder sometimes if we should even take the money, 'cause we're in here arguing a point that we probably -- if we didn't need that money, we wouldn't be arguing today, obviously, but we need their money and they put restrictions on it. Big government again.
Well, I think perhaps it's time for a little out-of-the-box thinking. We have a very bright group of City Councilpeople, and I think that they can come up with some sort of decision that makes everyone happy, both the federal government and --
I'm sorry. 121 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
I think it's time for a little out-of-the-box thinking. We have a group of very bright Councilpeople here that can put their heads together and come up with some ideas.
And I do reiterate, though, that I hope that City Council does give the Chestnut Street problem a lot of thought, because we're not just people in cars, we're pedestrians and we're cyclists, and we're senior citizens that can't acknowledge agilely run across the numbered streets and dodge cabs that are making right-hand turns.
If it were up to me, and I've told this to the SEPTA folks, I would eliminate those trains that they call buses, they're those 60-foot long jobs. I don't think those things are appropriate on Chestnut Street, or most streets, for that matter. Maybe Market Street can handle it, but I don't think they're conducive to Chestnut Street. I think they are very intimidating for people who are even walking on the sidewalk. 122 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
Well, frankly, I'm not too concerned about the buses going down Chestnut Street; I'm concerned about crossing the numbered streets when you have to dodge cabs that are making illegal right turns at break-neck speeds. I saw little old ladies leaping onto the curb the other day, getting out of the way of these illegal right turns.
But even where right turns are legal, we, as a culture -- a society, I should say -- don't respect pedestrians, and that's unfortunate. In Italy, you step out into the street and everybody stops.
But that's behavior, and that's how people react. And in Puerto Rico and in Mexico, they do the same thing and in California. It's a cultural thing, it's a behavioral thing.
Absolutely. Thank you. 123 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547
We second your nomination for secretary, by the way. The next witness, please identify yourself for the record.
My name is Kevin Smith. It's the traditional spelling, S-M-I-T-H. I'm the steering committee Chair of the Delaware Valley Transit Users Group. We are strongly opposed to allowing the right turns off Chestnut. You have created a system that, by its very nature, will require extensive and strict enforcement to be effective. You have provided neither the political pressure, nor the financial resources to ensure that enforcement. In effect, you've designed the system to fail. If you think it's hard to keep cars out of the right-hand lane now, by allowing right turns, it will become impossible. Everyone understood, when the current design was first proposed -- everyone understood 124 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 this when the current design was proposed, but even we're shocked at the shameless speed at which the City is moving to undermine the remaining vestige of a transitway. The current transitway, with all of its problems and shortcomings, must be maintained and eventually extended and improved to create a real bidirectional transitway link between Penn's Landing and 30th Street Station, not dismantled and gutted. If auto traffic is the key to a successful street, then every corner of this city should be a driving Utopia. What is actually happening is that special interests are slowly and surely choking the City with cars. More capacity only attracts more cars, which creates bigger traffic jams, which cause more pollution and only contribute to making Philadelphia a dirty and unpleasant place to visit. Philadelphia should be, first and foremost, for Philadelphians. Center City can best be served by making it an attractive, clean and quiet place to live, shop, dine, and do business. Promoting auto dependency and traffic 125 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 will do none of these. Promoting efficient public transportation will do all of these. With regards to some points made earlier about the revitalization of Chestnut Street, and there are numerous examples in the City of the east end of Market Street and Old City who've had traffic their entire existence but were -- and underwent their own revitalization independent of any traffic changes, more as a result of attention by the City, amenities, sidewalks, and just active pursuing of business by business associations. There's a -- revitalization of Chestnut Street was well underway before any changes were made to it, as a part of the whole improvements and revitalization and growth of the Center City District. Regarding traffic pollution and the additional traffic caused by looping cars trying to emulate the right turn by going either too far or looping around, I think instead of making an argument for allowing right turns, I think you're making an eloquent argument for returning Chestnut Street to its transitway status and returning all west-to-east traffic back to Market Street, which 126 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 has the capacity and size to handle it. Finally, with all due respect to Paul Levy and the transitway creating a dangerous situation with buses careening down the street, I think we have years of experience that show in 7 a transitway situation with unimpeded traffic 8 flow, without having to dodge cars, buses maintain 9 their schedule and proceed at a reasonable and 10 quiet pace. I'm a frequent user of buses on 11 Chestnut Street, I'm a frequent pedestrian all 12 around Center City. Chestnut Street, before 13 opening to cars, it was not a false of security, 14 it was a real sense of security. Crossing a 15 street when you have to dodge one bus every two or 16 three minutes a block away is not an exercise; 17 it's a stroll. Trying to cross Walnut Street or 18 trying to cross Market Street is an exercise. ) 21 from his book Transportation For Livable Cities. 22 "The more an area relies on transit and walking, 23 the greater its advantage over the suburbs with 24 respect to transportation choices, convenience, 25 and cost of travel.
Thank you. Any questions for this witness? (No questions.)
I think we have one more witness, Mr. Jordan? (Witness comes forward.)
Hello. My name is John Jordan. I am a resident of Center City in the area generally known as "Washington Square West." Washington Square West lies south of Chestnut Street, and with the no right turn on Chestnut Street, it puts everything south of Chestnut Street off limits. There are only three streets leading into Center City from west of the Schuylkill: Market, Chestnut, and Spruce becoming South when it across the Schuylkill. Chestnut is the most heavily traveled since it is a one-way street all the way from Cobbs Creek Parkway, also known as 63rd Street, to Front Street at the Delaware 128 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 River. Half of Center City lies south of Chestnut Street, and it is impossible to bar access to it. The destinations on South Broad Street alone include concert halls, theaters, restaurants, hotels, banks, and offices. These venues cannot be barricaded by an inaccessibility. Other southbound streets lead, as we have heard, to hospital emergency rooms and cannot be blocked. You heard from a representative of Jefferson Hospital. Pennsylvania Hospital also feels the same way, since access to the emergency room at Pennsylvania Hospital requires turning south on Tenth Street to get to it. It can already be seen as impossible to limit vehicular traffic to only the center lane of Chestnut Street. Even now, service and delivery vehicles are often stopped in the center lane, or even in the bus lane, so that other traffic must go around them one way or the other. A street this busy cannot function with only one traffic lane. It is well and good to mark out bicycle lanes on a street that is six lanes wide, such as 129 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 11th Street from Bainbridge to Washington Avenue. And even south of Washington Avenue to Reed Street, it is that wide, but it is wider than most other streets, including Chestnut Street. But on Philadelphia's narrow streets, vehicles, buses, and bicycles must coexist. If no-right-hand-turns on Chestnut Street makes sense, logic demands that you also say no-right-hand-turns on Walnut Street, and that would really paralyze Center City. Banning turns to the south off Chestnut Street is a planner's theory, a traffic engineer's proposal, a bicyclist's dream, but it cannot withstand the bright light of practical necessity. The detours, such as Councilman DiCicco has alluded to, necessary to go south are complex and impractical. There are some shorter ways to get your three blocks, but as you pointed out, only if you know what they are. If you were left to follow the signs, you would be going many blocks out of your way. And this adds unnecessary traffic to the detoured streets. The public will view these restrictions 130 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - BILL 000547 as impracticable and unworkable, and they will be widely ignored, creating conflict with the police if they try to enforce them. These regulations in a city as congested with narrow streets as Philadelphia must be changed. Thank you.
Thank you, John. Your testimony was excellent, and I appreciate it. And coming from a resident, it was very helpful. Thank you. Any questions for this witness? (No questions.)
I'm sorry you. Have to please step up and identify yourself again for the record.
Hi. I'm Sue MacNamara, the Director of the Bicycle Coalition. I just have some testimony that was handed to me by a business owner from Center City who couldn't be here to testify, but he wanted to get his testimony in. How do I do that? That's Michael McGettigan's, do you have that?
Council President Anna C. Verna is here. We're going to recess the public hearing on the resolution on the retaining walls temporarily. We'll go into our public meeting so we can handle the business of voting the bills out and then go back into the public hearing on the resolution. Okay. We're going to get to your retaining walls. In about five minutes, we'll be there. Okay, thank you. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen for a motion on Bill No. 000506.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill No. 000506 be reported out with a favorable recommendation and with a request for a suspension of the rules to permit first reading at the City Council meeting tomorrow. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000506 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our 132 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - PUBLIC MEETING next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen for a motion on Bill No. 000510.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill 000510 be reported out with a favorable recommendation and with a request for a suspension of the rules to permit first reading. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000510 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen for a motion on Bill No. 000511. 133 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - PUBLIC MEETING
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill No. 000511 be reported out with a favorable recommendation and with a request for a suspension of the rules.
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000511 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen for a motion on Bill No. 000513.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill No. 000513 be reported out with a favorable recommendation, together with a request for a suspension of rules to permit first reading. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000513 be reported out of this committee with a favorable 134 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - PUBLIC MEETING recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill No. 000538 be reported out with a favorable recommendation, together with a request for a suspension of rules to permit first reading. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000538 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. 135 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - PUBLIC MEETING The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill 000542 be reported out with a favorable recommendation and with a request for a suspension of the rules. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000542 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill 000584 be reported out with a favorable recommendation and with a request for a suspension of the rules. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000584 be reported out of this committee with a favorable 136 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - PUBLIC MEETING recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill 000582 the be reported out with a favorable recommendation together with a request for a suspension of the rules. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000582 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen. 137 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - PUBLIC MEETING
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill 000589 be reported out with a favorable recommendation and with a request for a suspension of the rules. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000589 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill No. 000604 be reported out with a favorable recommendation and with a request for suspension of the rules. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000604 be reported out of this committee with a favorable 138 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - PUBLIC MEETING recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen.
Mr. Chairman, I move that Bill No. 000605 be reported out with a favorable recommendation and with a request for a suspension of the rules. (Duly seconded.)
It's been properly moved and seconded that Bill No. 000605 be reported out of this committee with a favorable recommendation and that the rules of Council be suspended so as to permit first reading at our next session of Council. All those in favor of the bill will signify by saying aye. Those opposed? The bill is approved. The Chair recognizes Councilman Cohen. 139 10/24/00 STREETS/SERVICES - PUBLIC MEETING