PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council passed dozens of bills and resolutions at this week's meeting, as it prepares to wrap up business before its summer recess. Among their decisions was to give final approval to Councilmember Mark Squilla's bill to make changes on the east side of Washington Avenue.
The changes are designed to make the road safer, including reducing the number of lanes in parts. However, debate raged on in public comments. Supporters of the bill lamented that councilman Kenyatta Johnson will not allow lanes to be reduced in his district, west of Broad Street.
"Crossing Washington Avenue is scary. Riding its often blocked or unmarked bike lanes is even worse," Jeff Posner offered in testimony in support of the changes.
But opponents want the road to remain five lanes all the way.
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"It is not for bikers; it’s for motorists. It is not for pedestrians; it’s for motorists," said Claudia Sherrod.
Work on Washington Avenue east of Broad Street is set to start this summer.
Council also passed a bill to end so-called “prison gerrymandering,” the practice, in redrawing council district boundaries, of assigning incarcerated residents to their home address instead of prison.
Another measure will ask voters to create an independent Department of Aviation to run the airports. Currently, they operate within the Commerce Department.
Also getting the nod is a bill to allow the city to hire third parties to enforce illegal dumping violations, and a series of bills cracking down on truck parking. They ban semis and truck tractors from parking on any residential street, and one bill bars them from parking near parks, schools and libraries in Cherelle Parker’s district in the Northwest.