The University of Pennsylvania has announced that portions of Spruce Street will be closed next week to all vehicular traffic to accommodate their students moving into campus for the 2023-2024 school year. Street closures will take place every day from Monday, Aug. 21 through Friday, Aug. 25, except Thursday, Aug. 20.

Here’s the schedule and locations of street closures:

Spruce Street will be closed between 34th and 38th Streets from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Spruce Street will be closed between 38th and 40th Streets from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25.

Motorists should expect delays in these areas during this timeframe.

SEPTA buses that travel on Spruce Street will be on detour. Please check the SEPTA website for detour information.

Speed cushions near Lea School at 47th and Spruce.

Motorists will have to slow down when passing many local schools thanks to new traffic calming measures being installed around the city. In the past month, speed cushions have been installed near several West Philly schools and more are on the way. The work, which will continue throughout the summer, is being carried out by the Philadelphia Streets Department.

This work is part of the city’s efforts to make it easier for schools to have traffic calming measures installed as new legislation cutting the red tape was passed in the spring. Any city block can now request a traffic calming and safety study, but it takes around a year for this study to complete. The new legislation allows schools to bypass the study.

Around 50 School District of Philadelphia schools will get traffic calming measures by September, according to a report by CBS Philly.

Photo from septa.org.

Beginning July 22 and through Aug. 26, SEPTA will continue work on its multi-year Southwest Connection Improvement Program (SCIP), which will improve and upgrade mainline Regional Rail infrastructure between 30th Street Station and just past Penn Medicine Station. The work will impact regional rail service between 30th Street Station and Penn Medicine Station, which will be closed for the duration of the project.

Special Regional Rail construction timetables and service changes will be in effect July 22 through Aug. 26, 2023, for the following regional rail lines:

– Media/Wawa
– Wilmington/Newark
– Airport Lines

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The annual SEPTA Trolley maintenance project, Trolley Tunnel Blitz, is scheduled to begin this Friday, July 7.

While trolleys will be on diversion to 40th and Market via 42nd Street, SEPTA crews will be working in the tunnel and at the 40th Street Trolley Portal near 40th and Woodland. A portion of Woodland Avenue immediately west of the gated entrance to The Woodlands cemetery will be closed to vehicular traffic from July 8 to July 24 to accommodate SEPTA crews working on trolley track replacement (see map). Vehicles can only enter the cemetery by traveling west on Woodland Avenue.

In other Woodland Avenue news, it has been revealed that Phase 1 of the Woodland Avenue Complete Streets project, which includes installation of traffic signals and marked pedestrian crosswalks at the intersections of Woodland Avenue with Chester Avenue and near the Woodland Cemetery gates/40th St. Trolley Portal, has been postponed until next year. Design plans and construction contract to be used for this work are currently being finalized.

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SEPTA Trolley Tunnel, which connects West Philadelphia with Center City, will be closed for the annual maintenance from July 7 through July 24 for the annual “Trolley Tunnel Blitz.”

The tunnel closure will impact trolley routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36, all of which will temporarily divert to 40th and Market, where riders can transfer to/from the Market-Frankford Line to continue their travel.

A temporary shelter will be set up for riders switching to/from the Market-Frankford Line. The trolley diversion map is available here.

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University of Pennsylvania students are moving out of the dorms this week, which means a portion of Spruce Street will be closed to all vehicular traffic to accommodate the process.

Spruce Street will be closed between 34th and 40th Streets on Tuesday, May 9 and Wednesday, May 10, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Delays should be expected in the area during these times. SEPTA buses will be on detour.

Access to the PennVet Ryan Animal Hospital will be via 38th Street.