UCD Partners with Drexel and the City on 30th Street Station Traffic Management Pilot

As part of a larger effort to address transportation issues throughout our district, we have recently partnered with the City of Philadelphia and Drexel University to develop a pilot program to address congestion issues at 30^th Street Station through improved traffic management. A component of the City's CONNECT: Philadelphia's Strategic Transportation Plan, this effort will help Philadelphia reach its goals to both improve traffic safety and manage congestion.

The approach to I-76 from northbound Schuylkill Avenue is a notorious Philadelphia traffic choke point, particularly during the evening rush. Data UCD has accumulated has shown that vehicle travel times around 30th Street Station can be as much as 60 percent slower during peak hours (4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) than off-peak hours, with Thursdays and Fridays 25 percent slower than Mondays and 15 percent slower than Wednesdays. 

A key contributor to delays around 30th Street Station are vehicles that block-the-box. Through November 19, 2018 the Traffic Division of the Philadelphia Police Department will deploy officers from Market Street and 30th Street and Market Street and Schuylkill Avenue to provide traffic management services, enforcing blocking-the-box and yielding to pedestrians.

The objective of the pilot is to assess if placing traffic control police officers where Market Street intersects with 30th Street and with Schuylkill Avenue can reduce vehicle travel time around 30th Street Station. The project will be evaluated by comparing travel times around 30th Street Station during similar periods to the pilot period and a report will be issued within 30 days of the conclusion of the pilot.

This is the second enhanced traffic enforcement effort in the last 30 days. The first is an ongoing effort to increase enforcement of Market and Chestnut Streets in Center City to improve safety, prioritize the movement of people by SEPTA bus service, and reduce congestion.

The 30th Street Station pilot is a joint effort of the Philadelphia Police Department, University City District (UCD), Drexel University, and the Philadelphia Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS).