How Fishtown neighbors organized for a pedestrian safety win

More than 500 residents advocated for change, leading to 40% longer crosswalk times on Girard Avenue

It can be dangerous to cross busy streets in Philadelphia. Residents have mixed results on their request for traffic calming efforts.    

Girard Avenue is slightly easier to cross now that over 500 people who live or work in Fishtown campaigned for longer crossing times. 

The busy street has been a concern for almost two decades, according to some community members. As one of the more densely populated neighborhoods in the city — and getting denser with an increasing residential population — foot traffic is constant. 

“[Girard Avenue] is essentially a highway in the middle of our neighborhood,” said Ashlei Tracy, who was one of the main organizers of the push for longer crossing signals. “It needs to be safer for all users.” 

Tracy is the President of the Fishtown Neighbors Association (FNA), a volunteer-led registered community organization that advocates for local community needs. She says that the city’s reluctance to change the signals was originally due to concerns over increased commuter times, which she called an “unfortunate” prioritization over the safety of the people who live in the neighborhood. 

Tracy said that safety concerns were a multigenerational issue. “Teachers crossing with a gaggle of students almost never made it in time, so they would have to put themselves in danger in the street, holding their hands up,” explained Tracy. Older adults with walkers or canes also struggled to make it across the trolley track-lined avenue. 

How Fishtown Neighbors got a traffic-calming win

FNA drafted and circulated a petition throughout February and March to lengthen the pedestrian signals. Over 500 people signed, and at least 130 people also sent in personal statements. Councilmembers Mark Squilla and Jeffery Young wrote letters of support on the campaign’s behalf, as well as the Fishtown-Kensington Business Improvement District’s Executive Director, Marc Collazzo. 

Neighbors also did their research; they presented statistics from other comparable cities like D.C. and Boston with much longer cross times for narrower streets. 

The entire package was sent to the Streets Department and official communication with Streets began in May. Just a few days after an in-person meeting, the change was implemented. Crossing signals increased from 20 seconds to 28 or 30 seconds, depending on the location on Girard Avenue, resulting in at least a 40% increase in time. 

A celebratory post on Instagram from the FNA featured the new crossing signal.

“We’re really thankful for the city for giving that to us. This is deeply needed,” said Tracy. “But this is not the end of our asks when it comes to Girard Avenue.” 

The Instagram post echoed her sentiment, with its caption stating, “This is what people power looks like. Let’s keep going.”

Cover photo by G. Widman for VISIT PHILADELPHIA®

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