If you've been driving on Kelly Drive recently, you might have noticed that signs are requiring drivers to be a little less lead-footed. On Dec. 4 the city posted new speed limit signage, slowing down drivers from 35 mph to 25 mph.
And not just Kelly Drive. Vine Street had its speed limit set to 25 mph that same day and, back in October, signs were posted along Cottman Avenue to make that road 25 mph as well.
However, don't expect to get ticketed for this change, at least not for now. Officials said that there will be no change to enforcement on these roadways.
Instead, this effort is intended to test the effectiveness of the signage alone, officials said.
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The move is part of a pilot program that is expected to last about nine months, a representative of Philadelphia's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability told NBC10,
And, they aren't done. These three thoroughfares are only the first half of a final six corridors that are set to be targeted through this pilot program -- though just where these next three will be has not yet been determined.
As part of the pilot program, officials said the city is gathering data on vehicle counts and travel speeds that will be used to evaluate the safety benefits of the program.
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According to PennDOT, from 2018 to 2022, there were 40 speeding-related crashes -- 12 of which resulted in serious injury or death -- on Kelly Drive.
Officials with the city's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability said that speed is a "top contributing factor for fatal and serious injury crashes in Philadelphia, accounting for 22% of in 2022, according to the 2023 Vision Zero Annual Report."
Officials said these speed reductions are intended to help provide for safer streets.
City officials said other cites around the country have found success with similar programs.
The office pointed to a study in Boston found a nearly 30-percent decrease in the odds of vehicles exceeding 35 mph. A study in Seattle, that the office shared, found a 17-percent drop in injury crashes.
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