Letters to the Editor | Dec. 19, 2023

On Dec. 14, Pennsylvania House Bill 1284, introduced by Philadelphia Rep. Ed Neilson, was signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro. The law further allows for automated speed enforcement (ASE) in the state. In Philadelphia, it makes permanent the pilot program on Roosevelt Boulevard, expands eligibility for ASE to up to five more roads, and creates a pilot program in up to five school zones. This law was desperately needed.

In 2021, 41% of Pennsylvania’s motor vehicle deaths involved speeding, the third highest in the nation. As someone who lost four close family members in a speeding crash on Roosevelt Boulevard, and as the president of a traffic safety organization, we are highly attuned that these are not just statistics. The pilot program implemented on the Boulevard has helped reduce crashes by 36%. The enactment of this law will make Pennsylvania’s roads safer for all. We thank the state’s leaders for prioritizing safety and urge them to continue to improve traffic safety in the next session.

Latanya Byrd, pedestrian safety advocate, Philadelphia, and Cathy Chase, president, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Washington, D.C.

The speed reduction on Kelly Drive will be ignored as it is on Wissahickon Drive unless the city gets serious about enforcement. The photo accompanying the recent Inquirer article highlights a separate traffic problem: the blatant disregard for the prohibition of trucks on Kelly, Martin Luther King, and Wissahickon Drives and on the Strawberry Mansion Bridge. Take a drive on Kelly to Wissahickon onto Emlen Street. You will observe a double-digit number of scofflaws using these roads, paying no attention to the signs or the speed limits. The Philadelphia Water Department seems exempt from the prohibition, as it uses the Strawberry Mansion Bridge each morning with some large trucks that have no business being on that beautiful but delicate bridge. Both issues detract from the quality of life on the roads. The city would do right by citizens and visitors to actively enforce the rules.

Paul Csigi, Havertown

It is astonishing that City Council created an exception to its ban on wearing face-covering ski masks for people participating in public protests. The right to petition for redress of grievances implies taking a public stand. To allow demonstrators to hide behind face masks is to empower that small fraction of demonstrators inclined to engage in property destruction, looting, or disrupting the proceedings of an elective body to act without fear of punishment. Has everybody forgotten why the Ku Klux Klan wore hoods? Far better protections for First Amendment rights would be laws that ban dismissal from a job for political statements or actions outside the workplace, and penalize harassment of individuals for their views via social media or at their homes.

Philip Benedict, Philadelphia

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