Sept. 12
On Sept. 4, architect George Claflen sent the following memo, which details hazardous conditions for pedestrians and motorists at the busy intersection of 17th Street and Walnut Street, to the Philadelphia Streets Department.
To date, there has been no response to the memo and no progress on remediating the sidewalk closure that is forcing pedestrians to stand in the street while they are waiting for public transportation.
The first photos in the slideshow were taken on 9/4/08. Additional photos were taken 9/05/08 and 9/10/08.
Claflen's memo of Sept. 4
I hope you will take a moment to look at these photographs that reveal in my opinion a breakdown in leadership at the Streets Department.
1701 Walnut is the building in the background of the photograph -- it is being renovated. So far so good. A few weeks ago the sidewalk was closed and temporary sidewalk zone was created by the orange barricades that you see loaded on the truck in the other photograph. Now the situation at one of our busiest corners and a major bus stop is the following: The entire sidewalk is closed and people as you can see are waiting for the bus in the street.
The contractor told me that the Streets Department told him to remove the orange barricades which were in the street. (As they are at another construction site on the opposite side of the street in the next block north of Sansom on 17th Street.)
The current situation is unacceptable. No one should have to wait in the street for bus. Certainly there should be coordination between SEPTA and the City on these matters.
I am submitting these images and this complaint on my own -- but you may be aware that the Design Advocacy Group (DAG) of which I am a member has submitted a comprehensive photo dossier on this problem as a contribution to legislation on this problem.
The best solution to this would be restoration of the temporary pedestrian protected zone which is also consistent with how this type of situation is handled in other cities -- but whatever you do the present condition is not safe. Additionally wouldn't it be a good idea to have the Streets Department personnel who issue permits for this type of work receive some basic training and supervision on safety, pedestrian issues, and public transportation? And isn't it appropriate to require a higher standard of traffic and pedestrian management on our most densely used streets?
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely yours,
George Claflen
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