The intersection at 38th and Spruce streets — and the immediate area around it — has seen seven accidents since the beginning of 2013, the most recent of which was a hit-and-run that occurred last Thursday.
While the Philadelphia Streets Department told The Daily Pennsylvanian in May that the city planned to begin construction on “bumpouts” — sidewalk additions that will lessen the distance needed for pedestrians to cross the street — in the coming months, bumpouts have not yet been installed. As of May, the bumpouts were set to be completed by the end of this calendar year.
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Facilities and Real Estate Services — which co-commissioned a 2009 transportation study that listed 38th and Spruce streets as one of campus’s most dangerous intersections — said that they currently have no further updates on safety measures at the intersection. The Division of Public Safety, the study’s other sponsor, said it will provide more information about the intersection later this week.
The Philadelphia Streets Department could not be reached for a comment on Monday, which was also Columbus Day, to discuss the current state of the planned changes. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation was also unable to provide information to the DP on Monday.
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The 2009 study provided a list of nine recommendations of how to improve the intersection. As of April 2013, only one of the recommendations had been implemented. It is unclear how many more have been implemented since April.
Staff writers Jing Ran and Jill Castellano contributed reporting.
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