Engineering students seek to improve Phila. transportation

Students enrolled in Systems 352/552: Transportation Engineering in the School of Engineering and Applied Science this past spring think University City has gotten too congested in recent years. And they plan to do something about it. At the end of the semester, a group of approximately 30 Engineering students unveiled a preliminary proposal outlining a renovated transportation plan for the University that would mitigate the effects of heavy traffic and congestion. In suggesting that the University implement a more accessible, convenient and human-oriented transportation system, the students targeted five areas of transportation on campus -- streets, parking, transit, bicycle and pedestrian -- in their presentation. The goal of the group was "to improve transportation at Penn as a total system? and to integrate modes so that they coincide rather than conflict," according to Engineering senior Jason Sobel, a member of the policy and coordination team. In the hope of slowing down traffic entering campus and decreasing congestion, the students proposed changing the speed limit on Walnut Street to 25 miles per hour and reducing the street itself to only two lanes; changing the signal timings on Spruce Street to an alternating system; and desynchronizing the signal timings at 33rd and Walnut streets and between 33rd and 38th streets on Walnut Street. Suggested changes in the parking system included creating parking and delivery bays along the curbs of streets, delineating parking spaces with painted markings on the streets, color-coding curbs to signify legal parking spots and assigning permanent locations for food trucks on 38th and 40th streets. The students also proposed relocating parking spaces to allow for more parking in areas of high concentrations of people. In addition, the transit team recommended forming a partnership between the University and SEPTA. For example, a survey conducted by the students indicated that 60 percent of University students would use SEPTA more often if they were made more aware of its schedules and routes. The students suggested installing clearer signs, emergency lighting systems, automatic fire-control systems, temperature-regulation systems, information booths, waiting seats and token machines in each SEPTA station to improve the transit authority's image. Kim Heinle, director of the development office of SEPTA, said coordinating a diverse group of interests and integrating all needs into a coherent plan is a "balancing act." "Unless the policy of the community and the city are in sync, development cannot take place," Heinle said. The proposed partnership between the University and SEPTA also called for a student discount. Transportation Professor Vukan Vuchic, who is chairperson of the University's Facilities and Planning Committee, pointed out that the project is unique because it focuses on such a broad range of concerns. "Most years some students do one or two projects focusing on transportation in the campus area but this project has been the first that involved the entire class and covered all aspects of transportation," Vuchic said. "Thus, it has been the first comprehensive transportation project for the University." To enhance bicyclist and pedestrian safety, the students suggested organizing bicycle paths, creating maps of all bicycle lanes and relocating bicycle racks. They also explained that installing pedestrian signals and constructing textured crosswalks at the Smith Walk crossing of 33rd and 34th streets could slow traffic. "I think the campus has progressed in recent years, but there are many innovative designs that should be introduced," Vuchic said. "University officials have interest in these ideas and I am recommending the procedures necessary to implement them." Engineering junior Dan Fleder added, "We do not want to let this be just another class project put on the shelf -- we want to create wealth in our plans and follow through."

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