Philadelphia, PA − September 22, 2020 − State Senator Anthony H. Williams received the following letter to from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation regarding installing sinusoidal rumble strips on Cobbs Creek Parkway’s double-yellow centerline from 58th Street to Girard Avenue:

Dear Senator Williams, Representative McClinton and Councilmember Gauthier, 

This message is to inform you that the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will be installing sinusoidal rumble strips on Cobbs Creek Parkway’s double-yellow centerline from 58th Street to Girard Avenue starting tomorrowWednesday, September 23, 2020.  The operation is expected to take one-to-two days to complete. The placement of the centerline rumble strips is to reduce incidences of head-on and opposite direction side-swipe crashes. The sinusoidal rumble strips are designed to generate noise and vibration inside the vehicle to alert drivers when leaving the travel lane, while minimizing external vehicular noise when tires run over the rumble strips. Soon after the rumble strips are in place, new double-yellow center lines will be painted on the roadway. 

The addition of the centerline rumble strips follow on the recent pavement marking changes made by PennDOT and the City of Philadelphia Streets Department following the resurfacing of 63rd Street/Cobbs Creek Parkway from City Avenue to 58th Street (narrowed travel lanes to 11 feet as soft form of traffic calming to reduce speeds; added “PED XING” pavement legends at the trolley stops at Lebanon Avenue and Jefferson Street due to disembarking passengers in the left lane; added dotted extension pavement markings through intersections to provide additional guidance to motorists entering from the side streets; and installed some pavement marking legends to educate drivers at select locations).

The department will keep you informed when additional safety measures are implemented on Cobbs Creek Parkway in the coming weeks. They will include the installation of lane separator curb and delineators within the center turn lane median gore at select locations to discourage aggressive driving/passing without negatively impacting left turns into streets and alleys; the installation of new durable pavement markings to accompany the curb and delineators, plus markings to alert drivers to the speed limit and pedestrians; and the installation of new safety signing, which include curve/turn signs, curve advisory speeds signs, and chevrons to reduce run-off-the-road incidents.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We hope this information is of assistance.

Sincerely,

Gene Blaum 
Eugene J. Blaum | Assistant to the District Executive
PA Department of Transportation | Engineering District 6