PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Construction is underway for a new roundabout in Fishtown.
The traffic project is transforming the intersection of Frankford Avenue, Trenton Avenue and York Street into a modern roundabout. The entire intersection will be closed through the summer.
Gus Scheerbaum, director of transportation strategic initiatives for the Philadelphia Streets Department, said the city chose this particular intersection due to several reported traffic incidents.
“We were looking at intersections that had 10 or more crashes during our study period, and this had 10,” he said.
The city is trying to improve dangerous intersections to help meet its goals of the Vision Zero initiative, which aims to “reduce traffic fatalities completely to zero,” said Scheerbaum.
He said the biggest factor in traffic fatalities is speed.
“And roundabouts are known to drastically reduce speed and reduce risk of traffic crashes and severe and fatal crashes by about 80% to 90%,” he said, particularly if they are located near areas where people walk and play.
“Because if one of those people happens to be hit by a moving vehicle, if the moving vehicle is moving more slowly, they will have a much greater probability of surviving.”
The project will likely be complete by the fall.