Philadelphia drivers will now need to take it slow along Kelly Drive. As a part of a new program the city is testing the effectiveness of changes in the signage. The goal is to see if driver behavior changes as a result.
Changes Along Kelly Drive
If you’ve recently had to do a double take while cruising along the nearly nine-mile winding road of Kelly Drive, you are not alone. In fact, the speed limit has been lowered from the usual 35 MPH to 25 MPH; signs are already in place to reflect the change.
City officials are hoping to make the picturesque ride along the Schuylkill River safer with far less crashes.
According to PennDOT, there were 40 speed-related crashes on Kelly Drive from 2018 to last year. Twelve of them ending in a fatality or a serious injury.
Specifically, speed was a top contributing factor for fatal and serious injury crashes in Philadelphia, accounting for 22% in 2022, according to this year’s Vision Zero annual report.
Philly Reacts
Some Philadelphians are skeptical the change will have much impact.
“You know how Philly is, like if it’s 35 then it’s 45,” resident Tresaun Lee told Fox29’s Gregory Payne.
Other residents feel red-light cameras like the ones implemented on Roosevelt Blvd. will have more impact.
“This is a more passive way to do that, putting up lower speed limits, but speed cameras would help really reinforce that the speed limit must be followed,” said Sarah Clark Stuart, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia to Fox News.
However, this can only be implemented if the Pennsylvania legislature creates a bill to allow the expansion of the automated speed enforcement program.
For now, a reduced speed limit along Kelly Drive will have to do.
Notably, the city plans to enforce the new change with time so drivers can adjust. As always, police officers can icket drivers caught speeding in any fashion.
The change in speed is a part of a nine-month pilot program. The Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability said Kelly Drive is one of six corridors where the city is piloting speed reductions.
Comparatively, a new plan for Vine Street and Cottman Avenue have already been rolled out.