City, facing criticism, says Washington Ave. pivot was a ‘matter of equity’

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But others see the compromise announced Saturday as a loss.

King, a parent at Edwin M. Stanton School, wrote a petition urging the city to stop delaying and move forward with the project, without modifying the final design decision announced in 2020. King’s petition got over 2,800 signatures. A competing petition, “Stop the Washington Avenue 2/3 Lane project!” got close to 2,000 signatures. A community-led paper survey last year got hundreds of respondents, the vast majority of whom said they wanted to see Washington Avenue changed.

“What I wish [the city] would have done is hire a polling firm to conduct a phone survey and get a representative sample of South Philadelphia residents,” King said. “Instead, they had closed-door meetings with neighborhood groups who yelled at the city that they disagreed with this plan.”

City officials acknowledge the in-person meetings last year were a “targeted engagement effort,” but say no one was turned away.

King worries the city will settle on the four-lane option, and that kids who walk to school will need to cross an extra lane of traffic. But OTIS’ Huertas said the actual distance from curb to curb is the same in all alternatives, and that the four-lane and mixed designs include close to the same amount of protected bike lanes as the three-lane proposal — just two blocks fewer.

“Many comments appear wildly out of perspective with the likely changes between the full three-lane option and the options still under consideration,” Huertas wrote in an email.

Nicole Brunet, PennEnvironment’s Eastern Pennsylvania field organizer, helped promote King’s petition and wants to see Washington Avenue reconfigured to prioritize modes of transportation that do not contribute to climate change.

Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)

“It should be easier, more affordable and more pleasant to take the bus, walk, and bicycle down the road,” she said. “It should be easier to make these decisions to not get in your car.”

In a tweet Saturday, State Sen. Nikil Saval, who represents Center City and parts of South Philly outside of Grays Ferry and Point Breeze, called the three-lane solution “the safest option,” and OTIS’ decision to abandon it “disgraceful.”

“Thousands participated in the process, overwhelmingly supporting 3 lanes,” he wrote. “Like all of them, I feel betrayed and duped. @PhillyOTIS owns this farce and should be ashamed.”

City officials bristle at the idea they bowed to “pressure.”

“It is squarely a matter of equity,” OTIS’ Huertas said in an emailed statement.

The city plans to hold a public open house on March 1 at 6 pm for those interested in seeing the finalized plans before construction.

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