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Council committee hears support for 40th Street safety regulations, sponsor stresses outreach
Summary
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier and city transportation officials asked the Streets Department to be authorized to set parking, stopping and loading regulations on 40th Street to support a safety redesign after extensive neighborhood outreach; the Bicycle Coalition and Streets Department urged the committee to advance the bill.
A Philadelphia City Council Committee on Streets and Services public hearing on bill 250,712 drew testimony supporting authorization for the Department of Streets to adopt parking, stopping and loading regulations on 40th Street between Chestnut and King, a measure proponents say is part of a redesign to reduce traffic violence.
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, sponsor of the legislation, told the committee neighborhood residents requested redesigns of 40th and 40th streets after more than two years of outreach and incidents on the corridor. "More than two years ago, neighborhood residents approached my office about redesigning two arterial roads, 40th Street and 40‑eighth Street, which have been plagued with traffic violence," Gauthier said. She told the committee her office and project staff held more than a dozen meetings, organized block-specific focus groups and incorporated more than 50 revisions requested by neighbors.
Deputy Commissioner Richard Montanez of the Department of Streets testified the bill authorizes the department to "prohibit or restrict the stopping of vehicles and to establish and revise time‑limited loading zones on both sides of 40th Street between Chestnut Street and King" consistent with public safety and right‑of‑way use. Montanez said the parking and stopping rules would support safety changes implemented this summer, including daylighting at intersections and new loading zones, and that the Department of Streets supports the legislation.
The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia also testified in favor. "This bill will enable the safety of all road users by prohibiting parking in the new separated bike lane and one‑way southbound lane configuration on 40th Street," Executive Director Chris Gail said, noting the corridor is part of the city's High Injury Network.
Committee members questioned specifics about the corridor data and how agency responsibilities are divided. Montanez and witnesses said the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems (Otis) typically leads the planning and outreach while the Streets Department implements curb and lane changes; Montanez said the parking and loading regulations were developed in partnership with Gauthier's office and through stakeholder engagement conducted between 2023 and 2025.
No formal vote or final action on bill 250,712 was recorded in the hearing.
