PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — PennDOT is planning big changes in the traffic flow on local Vine Street through Chinatown to make the stretch more pedestrian- and bike-friendly.
The plan removes a travel lane on westbound Vine Street between Ninth and 12th streets. Eastbound Vine Street, between Broad to Eighth streets, will also decrease from three travel lanes to two, with bump-outs built at intersections.
“What that’s going to do is reduce the crossing distance for pedestrians. It’s also going to give us room to install and construct a bike lane going in the eastbound direction,” said Brad Rudolph, PennDOT deputy communications director.
“We’re basically doing a road diet to kind of slow down traffic, make it a shorter distance for pedestrians to cross, and then adding a bike lane so cyclists can use the corridor.”
No bike lane is planned for westbound Vine Street, but PennDOT does plan to reconfigure the intersection at Ninth Street by adding a new traffic signal.
Concept plans
PennDOT is also planning a second left turn lane from southbound Broad Street to the eastbound Vine Street Expressway to ease congestion on Broad.
Rudolph said construction on the $7 million project is expected to begin next spring or summer and finish in time for Philadelphia’s events in 2026 celebrating the nation’s semiquincentennial.