Cheryl Miller and Dorothy Anderson often watch kids ride their bicycles and play ball after school on their shady West Oak Lane street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But the neighbors, who have both lived on the 6600 block of N. 20th Street for six decades, worry as they see drivers zoom to and from nearby 66th Avenue, a major neighborhood road.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see cars come down here \u2013 it’s like a thruway. They just fly through the block,\u201d Miller said. \u201cLike it\u2019s an expressway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last year, the city converted the intersection at 20th and 66th into a four-way stop in an effort to boost safety, and now Miller and Anderson\u2019s block is the first to receive new signage aimed at combatting speeding. The diamond-shaped sign instructs drivers to \u201cslow down\u201d and \u201cwatch children\u201d and reminds them of the 25 mph speed limit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a collision at 25 miles per hour, pedestrians have a 90% chance of surviving,\u201d Miles Owen, of 5th Square<\/a>, said at a news conference Monday morning. \u201cThat percentage drastically decreases as the speed goes up. This sign makes that visible and reinforces the stakes.\u201d<\/p>\n New tool for traffic calming<\/strong><\/p>\n The marker is replacing smaller, rectangular \u201cDrive CarePhilly\u201d signs that have been in use for several years. Thomas Buck, transportation director of operations for the city\u2019s Streets Department, said the new version is \u201cmore of a typical PennDOT warning sign.\u201d<\/p>\n City Councilmember Anthony Phillips, of the 9th District, whose office collaborated with the department on the initiative, said the signage program is particularly important for residents whose blocks do not qualify for speed bumps.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, every block in the city of Philadelphia, for the most part \u2013 I mean hundreds at this point \u2013 are asking for speed cushions, and we can’t,\u201d he said. \u201cNot every block is warranted based off of the (speed) study, but also not every block can have one because of limited resources.\u201d<\/p>\n Buck advised Philadelphians concerned about speeding to file a traffic safety request through 311<\/a>. From there, the Streets Department can analyze the roadway and determine whether the block needs bumps, signs or other traffic calming measures, he said.<\/p>\n Deadly crashes fuel calls for action<\/strong><\/p>\n Monday\u2019s unveiling came amid a string of violent crashes in recent days.<\/p>\n Authorities said a man behind the wheel of an SUV was speeding early Sunday morning along the Roosevelt Expressway and attempted to cross multiple lanes of traffic to exit at Fox Street when he lost control and struck a concrete median, killing two young women who were passengers in the car.\u00a0<\/p>\n About two hours earlier, late Saturday night, a driver hit a van parked on the 1100 block of S. 11th Street in South Philadelphia, knocking it into 75-year-old John McDermott, who became pinned between a pair of unoccupied cars, according to police. McDermott died of his injuries, and investigators said the driver ran away from the scene on foot.<\/p>\n And on Thursday, May 28, a car struck a woman and four young children on the 4700 block of Marple Street in Holmesburg, law enforcement officials said. A 4-year-old boy was hospitalized in critical condition, according to the PPD. The suspected driver was taken into custody, but there has been no word on whether they have been charged.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania Department of Transportation<\/a> data shows that there were 100 traffic fatalities in Philadelphia last year, the lowest number since 2019.<\/p>\n