47th Street near Pine on Wednesday, Aug. 13.
UPDATE (8/14/25): A portion of 47th Street has been converted to a one-way street and vehicles now travel north only between Chestnut St. and Baltimore Ave. The one-way portion of the street has one lane of traffic with parking lanes on both sides and a southbound bike lane on the left side, separated by the parking lane. Work will continue in the next several days to convert the remaining portion of the street between Baltimore Ave. and Kingsessing Ave.
8/8/25:
Work has begun to convert South 47th street to one-way street as part of the 47th Street Repaving and Traffic Safety project, which aims to improve traffic safety for pedestrians, motorists and bicyclists. The street has been recently repaved and now new signs are being installed, like the “Do Not Enter” signs in the southbound direction (see photo above).
Two-way vehicle traffic will be converted to one-way northbound traffic between Kingsessing Avenue and Chestnut Street, so additional Stop signs for the future northbound left lane have also been installed (see photo below).
The project also includes installation of a parking separated bike lane between Kingsessing Avenue and Chestnut Street and some other traffic safety features (read more here).
August 9th, 2025 at 10:39 am
I think it is unfortunate that transplants come first and not those who’ve been in the area the longest. I also feel like legislation seems to favor the non-malady over the black and brown people in the area. And before you say that it’s based on traffic calming. There is a woman who is not Melanie who has come down to council to prove that the studies that they were using are incorrect for that area. I also wish that we prioritize our seniors. We can make sure that we are safe for everyone without disrupting major livelihood.
August 11th, 2025 at 11:49 am
I don’t understand why this is happening after they just installed, removed, and reinstalled the bike lanes on S 48th Street. I am all for the safety of bikers and pedestrians, as I walk most of the time in my neighborhood. But 48th St is one of the busiest thorofares in the area, and I can barely get into the driver’s side of my car now without fear of getting sideswiped by a car or bus. This seems like very poor planning and execution.
August 13th, 2025 at 9:44 pm
This is fabulous news. The 47th Street corridor can be very busy and more is needed to help keep cyclists and pedestrians safe, especially for those of us that connect from 47th to Grays Ferry Ave and vice versa. Everyone will me much safer along this stretch as a result. Looking forward to the rest of the neighborhood traffic calming improvements too. Long overdue!
August 13th, 2025 at 10:12 pm
I am so glad they are finally investing in pedestrian and bicycle safety. Drivers in this area are very discourteous towards cyclists and go quickly and don’t give enough room. The parking protection makes us feel safer. I would hope my neighbors understand that looking for traffic before opening their car doors is table stakes for having a driver’s license.
August 13th, 2025 at 10:16 pm
Senior citizens and the disabled stand benefit the most from traffic calming such as this. As we all know stop signs are not obeyed. Through narrower lanes We are suggesting drivers move more slowly which have beneficial results for everybody. I look forward to seeing everybody on our newly paved and safer streets
August 14th, 2025 at 7:48 am
Bike lanes are a good idea, I use them all the time, don’t have a car, etc., but this particular layout could displace a lane of traffic onto neighboring streets, making them *more* crowded, dangerous, etc. At one of the meetings OTIS said they were going to collect traffic flow data related to this project, it will be useful to see how this actually works out.
August 14th, 2025 at 1:30 pm
Ruth, it’s a shame you feel the need to resort to baseless generalizations on race because you don’t have a good reason to oppose improving safety for everyone in the neighborhood.
Lindsay, it sounds like you’re the one who hasn’t done any thinking about this. Based on your “me-first”attitude though I’m not surprised.
August 14th, 2025 at 8:52 pm
Traffic squelching would be a more appropriate description.
I, for one, have used 47th street to get to Grays Ferry bridge and back for the last 40+ years. I will miss the easy and relaxing route afforded by that simple connection.
Enjoy the new wall in West Philadelphia Mystery Traffic Maze.
August 15th, 2025 at 9:21 am
Great! Fully support this. As narrow as it is north of Baltimore, 47th street being two-way was a nightmare for all, drivers, pedestrians and cyclists
August 15th, 2025 at 9:53 am
Mike, what might you see as being the alternative routes southbound drivers will now take? – South on 48th?
August 16th, 2025 at 12:55 pm
I love the new layout! It already feels much safer and I’m seeing families with young kids all riding bikes together.
I wish the city would do safety upgrades on all the other streets that are being repaved now
August 17th, 2025 at 12:01 am
It’s funny that SEPTA keeps reminding us of upcoming service cuts to several of its transit lines, pending funding from the state legislature. Also, SEPTA is in the process of re-branding its image to give it a more fresh, on-the-ball image. I’m thinking instead of re-naming the trolleys T1-T5, etc., why not, if SEPTA feels the need to eliminate the trolley numbers, change the trolley names to something a little less sterile than “T”. I have suggested this, and it has gained a good bit of momentum, change the trolley designations to spell out M*A*S*H*. That way we don’t have to get rid of the trolleys and we don’t have to use this “T” nomenclature which NOBODY seems to like. Simple: You can catch the M, the A, the S or the H. And the 10 can remain as such. Get ride of the 15 because it’s old; the trolleys were part of the 1980 Kawasaki roll-out. It’s not complicated.
August 19th, 2025 at 11:42 am
Chris – Yes very nice for people living on or adjacent to 47th St. Not so nice for people on 46th, 48th, and 49th where all the southbound traffic that used to use 47th will now be displaced to.