Traffic Returns To MLK Drive In Philly Aug 4

PHILADELPHIA — Martin Luther King Drive will no longer be the haven for runners, walkers, cyclists, and more as the city plans to reopen the road to vehicles next month.

According to officials, the road will once again have vehicles on it starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 4.

Martin Luther King Drive was closed to vehicles on March 20, 2020 "in the interest of facilitating social distancing among trail users."

The decision comes after consultation with City Council and the completion of various infrastructure projects, including improvements to the recreational trail, paving, and upgrades to lighting.

While the road will be open to vehicles most of the time, the city will re-institute the pre-pandemic seasonal pattern, closing the drive for weekend recreational use and city holidays from Falls Bridge to Eakins Oval starting at 6 a.m. on Saturday, August 7 through the end of October.

The city is also looking at ways to extend these closures beyond this pattern, and it is committed to providing training and orientation of partner agencies to support the extension of the closure through to Spring 2022 and to pilot options which include continuous and holiday closures starting in September; and evaluating the longer-term sustainable options which may involve procurement of additional equipment and or services over the next six months.

"We are fortunate that the closure of MLK allowed the City to address requests for recreational space during the height of the pandemic and at the same time facilitated the completion of a number of needed infrastructure projects such as the trail," said Deputy Managing Director for Transportation, Mike Carroll. "This includes a $1.4 million dollar project to completely reconstruct, rehabilitate and widen the recreational trail, including upgrades to drainage, signage, ADA ramps and line striping, which was proposed before the pandemic and will provide a far safer experience for walkers, joggers and cyclists to continue enjoying the riverbank regardless of traffic on the Drive."