Take Back Your Neighborhood last week listened to a presentation on possible changes to Roosevelt Boulevard.
Guest speakers were Matt Wysong, Roosevelt Boulevard Program Coordinator with the city Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, and Dom Marchesano, a traffic engineer with Jacobs.
The goal of the project is to make the Boulevard safer for motorists and pedestrians by reducing speeding and crashes. Money from federal and state grants has been earmarked for the improvements.
Speed cameras have been placed on the Boulevard, safety improvements have been made to the intersections at Summerdale and Adams avenues and SEPTA Direct Bus service connects the Frankford Transportation Center to Neshaminy Mall with fewer stops.
Some people in the crowd complained that several Boulevard crossover lanes have been eliminated. Crossover lanes from Cottman Avenue to Red Lion Road will be extended to make them safer and less congested for drivers crossing between the inner and outer lanes.
By 2029, improvements will include a reduction in pedestrian crossing time and signals at new pedestrian crossings; pedestrian islands; new bike lanes on cross streets to connect to Direct Bus stations; additional time to make left turns; new sidewalks, benches and shelters at bus stops; and more trees and plants in the medians and along the sidewalks of the outer lanes.
One woman complained about trees that were removed near Rhawn Street. Wysong said PennDOT had them removed.
Many people at the meeting were not happy with The Boulevard Reimagined, a study that will lead to improvements to change the look and feel of the Boulevard by 2040.
Some of those ideas include reducing the Boulevard from 12 to eight lanes and reducing speed to 25 mph.
A man also complained that, since the city, PennDOT and SEPTA seem to be spending money like it’s going out of style, why not build more bridges for pedestrians to safely cross the Boulevard.
Planners are also discussing the possible addition of a subway, light rail transit or bus rapid transit on the Boulevard.
More information is available at Bit.Ly/RooseveltBoulevard.
In other news from the Jan. 27 meeting:
• Mark Mroz, community relations officer in the 2nd Police District, said detectives continue to investigate the Jan. 14 shooting death of Noah Scurry, a 17-year-old Fels High School senior. The shooting took place in the rear alley of a house on the 5000 block of Rorer St. in Feltonville, as Scurry’s mom was about to drive him to school. Scurry was on the basketball team and scored highest in the school on the SAT. Mroz said detectives are closely looking at social media posts in a search for suspects.
Mroz said about 500 people celebrated the Eagles’ NFC championship game victory over the Washington Commanders at the Five Points intersection in Burholme. He added that about 4,500 people were at Frankford and Cottman avenues, along with 350 police officers. He condemned a man who fired a gun in the air and said he was disappointed nobody in the crowd pointed out the suspect, who he said could face aggravated assault charges against each of the people in the crowd.
Mroz said the 2nd district does not have the authority to endorse or oppose the proposed changes on Castor Avenue from four lanes of traffic to three, including left-turn lanes.
Mroz also said principals have sent letters to parents that say some students whose parents are in the United States illegally are worried that they will be deported now that Donald Trump is back in the White House.
• Glitter and state Rep. Jared Solomon will hold a job fair on Feb. 27, from 4 to 5:30 p.m., at Solomon’s office at 6434 Castor Ave. Glitter is looking for people to join its team of community cleaners in the 202nd Legislative District. The pay is $25 per block cleaned.
• Max Myers Playground, 1601 Hellerman St., hosts a flea market every Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Take Back Your Neighborhood will meet on Monday, Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m. at Max Myers. ••
