Letters to the Editor

Safety and accessibility

As a lifelong resident of East Passyunk Crossing in the East Passyunk Avenue neighborhood, it was very encouraging to read Mark Zimmaro’s report on the planned project to improve connection between South Philly and the Delaware River (“Construction begins on Washington Ave.,” April 30). It is called The Washington Avenue Connector Project – and rightly so! 

This is apparently a joint project between the city Department of Streets and the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. As Zimmaro reports, the work should take about a year and a half. Washington Ave. will get all kinds of improvements that include new curbs, shorter crosswalks and median islands. I especially like that the new construction will include safe paths for walkers and bikers.

Living in such a vibrant neighborhood like Passyunk Avenue, it really impresses me that we are about to witness a project to encourage more safe transportation to make this whole area more accessible to the rest of the city.

I am especially grateful that the timeline for this project is reasonable. Whatever temporary inconvenience is expected will be worth the end result. I always witness all kinds of improvement projects going on in my neighborhood that cause some delays in traffic. In the end, these minor disruptions are worth the end result of safer streets and improved utilities. 

So bravo and a hearty thanks to the Streets Dept. and the DRWC for this worthwhile plan to improve access between our neighborhoods and the Delaware River Trail.

Gloria C. Endres