Market Street Transformation Study

Great Public Space / Car-Free Travel / Connect Better From Vision2026: “Market Street is a key point of activity and arrival in Old City by foot, car, and transit, and should be by bicycle too. As a wide thoroughfare, measuring about 100 feet from building to building, the cartway between 5th and 2nd Streets can accommodate two curbside bicycle lanes, parking on each side, a single travel lane in each direction, and transit stops as needed. […] because of today’s [highway-oriented] design of the street, Market Street cleaves Old City in two. By reconceiving the 200 block as a multi-modal plaza, in which pedestrians are the focal point of design, it can be transformed to pull Old City together. Old City has the opportunity to demonstrate leadership to the rest of Philadelphia for how to provide great transit arrival experiences.” Successes: Almost immediately after adoption of Vision2026, OCD undertook the Market Street Transformation Mobility Study, which was completed by JVM Studio (with support from NV5). The study reaffirmed community support for making substantial changes to Old City’s central street, tested and proved the concept proposed in Vision2026, and concluded with cost estimates for the first phase of improvements. Since completion of the study, the City of Philadelphia has embraced the plan and ~$10mm has been raised for construction. Final design of separated bike lanes, transit boarding islands, and shortened crosswalks is expected to begin in 2021. Discussions about the plaza element are ongoing.