PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Mayor Cherelle Parker signed three bills into law Tuesday that she says are widely different, but will improve safety in the city.
“All of these bills, in their own ways, Philadelphia, work to do what I committed to doing for you, and that is making your public health and safety our number one priority,” she said.
One bill bans the production, sale, transfer or possession of bump stocks, used to increase the amount of bullets a gun can fire.
“Back in March, do you remember this shooting where we had eight young people shot? Guess what was attached to that glock,” Public Safety Director Adam Geer said.
A recent Supreme Court ruling overturned the federal ban on bump stocks, but officials said it would not apply to this bill, as it was passed by a legislative body.
A second bill authorizes speed cameras on Broad Street to reduce crashes. It’s an expansion of the bill that allowed speed cameras on Roosevelt Boulevard in 2020.
Executive Director Rich Lazer is studying where the cameras will go.
“This is governed by the data,” Lazer said. “We look at the data, we look at the crash data, and we make the decisions on where we will save people’s lives and that’s what these cameras do.”
Data from the Bicycle Coalition found that four of the six highest crash intersections in the city are on Broad Street — 90% of crashes involve a speeding driver.
The third bill puts new training requirements on people who carry out evictions. It’s named for Angel Davis, who was critically injured last year when a contractor shot her during an eviction. A few months later, a Port Richmond woman was shot in the leg by a contractor appointed by the court to evict her.
Davis was present for the bill signing Tuesday but said the real victory will come when the city starts enforcing it.
“I need it to really take place for real great change, not just for show,” Davis said.