If the long-discussed plans to improve the Benjamin Franklin Parkway become a reality, tourists who are trying to see the Rocky statue may no longer have to maneuver getting across several lanes of speeding traffic, writes Meir Rinde for Billy Penn at WHYY.
The busy stretch of Spring Garden Street and Ben Franklin Parkway in front of Philadelphia Museum of Art could be shut down and turned into a grassy park, with Eakins Oval being redesigned to extend up to the sidewalk. Drivers would be instructed to either go around the bottom of the oval or in another direction instead.
While the implementation of such a plan is most likely years away, after 10 years of discussion, plans for the nearly mile-long expanse appear to be inching forward.
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation recently awarded a $1.8 million grant for a survey of Eakins Oval and surrounding streets. The project will also include environmental clearances and preliminary design work.
A Parks and Recreation Department spokesperson confirmed the work is part of the larger planning effort.
“This work has been conceptualized and underway for about four years, and it was identified during and throughout the Reimagine Ben Franklin Parkway process as near-term, early-action geometric improvements,” she said.
Read more about the plans in Billy Penn at WHYY.
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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on PHILADELPHIA Today in February 2024.
