Visitors / Employees
UCD works closely with the City and community residents to enhance the safety of the streets for the benefit of pedestrians, bikers, transit riders, and drivers. We have developed a number of pedestrian plazas that use greening and design principles to make dangerous intersections safer, greener, more beautiful open spaces.
Pedestrian Plazas
Baltimore Crossing
Baltimore Crossing
In late 2011, UCD received a grant from the City of Philadelphia to transform the intersection of 48th Street, Baltimore Ave. and Florence Ave. – long seen as confusing and potentially dangerous– into a space more suited to pedestrians. Working in partnership with the City and the community, UCD sought to improve pedestrian safety, green the space, enhance the waiting experience for trolley riders, and use local materials, all while avoiding an impact on parking.
Through bump outs, stones and terra-cotta style planters, the Baltimore Crossing Pedestrian Plaza creates a far less intimidating experience for pedestrians while reducing the speeds of turning vehicles. The design has cut pedestrian crossing distances by roughly 40% - 50%, while creating a beautiful new sea of green that knits together Baltimore Ave. both functionally and aesthetically.
Woodland Green
Woodland Green
In 2012, Philadelphia's Pedestrian Plaza Program kicked off with Woodland Green, located at 42nd and Woodland Ave. UCD combined an underutilized street segment with a barren traffic triangle to create a new oasis for pedestrians, who could relax at tables and chairs shaded by trees and umbrellas. Given the success of the plaza, the City of Philadelphia decided to make the temporary street changes permanent, and replaced the street with grass.
The newly re-opened area will be redesigned and developed by UCD to include permanent, pedestrian-friendly amenities. In the meantime, Looped In, our social seating structures, will provide a meeting place for people to gather and relax.
Cedar Park
Cedar Park
In 2017, we worked with the City and community to simultaneously expand the footprint of Cedar Park while solving a traffic concern by installing a pedestrian plaza at Cedar Park's eastern edge, where Baltimore Avenue, Catharine Street, and 49th Street converge. Using planters, flex posts, trees, and boulders, we eliminated a confusing turning lane, and created a few extra parking spaces in the process.
