Business owners, residents, and police are at odds over South Street’s summer street closures

At some point over the holiday weekend, Lt. Steven Ricci, commanding officer of the South Street Police Mini Station, expects to make a decision he has been trying to put off for weeks: whether it’s time to put up barricades and close down parts of South Street.

The practice of closing some busy intersections on South Street to pedestrians only during warm months escalated during the pandemic and even more so after a mass shooting on the street in 2022 left three dead and 11 injured. On busy weekend nights last summer, police regularly shut down a six-block swath of the historic corridor, running from Sixth Street to Front Street and often starting between 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. and lasting until 2 a.m. or later.

Ricci, who took over command of the district last February, said the closures are the most effective measure at his disposal to combat nuisance behavior that plagues South Street: The ATVs, dirt bikes, and speedy Slingshot vehicles that treat the thoroughfare like a dragstrip, and tailgaters who blast loud music.

“It is very effective at reducing the reckless driving and curbing the nuisance behavior that can sometimes turn violent,” he said.

But while residents have applauded the shutdowns as a way to improve quality of life, some business owners say the barricades threaten to maintain a stranglehold on the iconic Philly thoroughfare, just as it shows signs of rebirth.

Earlier this month, Eleanor Ingersoll, head of the South Street Headhouse District business improvement organization, penned a letter to the mayor, the police commissioner, and Councilmember Mark Squilla calling for an end to the closures. She argued that the barricades created an unwelcoming environment and further the perception that South Street is unsafe.

Ingersoll, who took over the district in January, and has a good working-relationship with Ricci, said the purpose of her letter was not to fault police, but the city, who she says needs to dedicate more resources to South Street and help find better solutions than barricades.

“The only resource they are giving to police to deal with these issues are these stanchions that are pitting business owners versus residents,” she said. “It’s not sustainable.”

Councilmember Squilla, who represents South Street, has been meeting with the district, police, and civic groups from Queen Village and Society Hill to discuss possible solutions, including speed cushions, sound cameras that could issue tickets to nuisance noise violators, and even converting portions of South Street to cobblestone during a water main project scheduled on the street next year.

“The lines of communication are open,” Squilla said. “It is the perfect time to come up with a plan that can make South Street safe for everyone.”

Until those better solutions are put in place, civic groups want the barricades to stay.

“Everyone wants to live near a vibrant commercial corridor,” said Cait Allen, president of the Queen Village Neighbors Association. “But right now, there are a lot of behaviors that detract from that. Putting up the barricades is one of the few realistic options that we currently have to curb the mayhem.”

As the weather has warmed in recent weeks, Ricci says he has been receiving more complaints from residents about the dirt bikes and noise.

He hears the concerns of those business owners who want the barriers to stay down.

“It’s not like we’re trying to throw metal barricades and call it a day,” he said. “We are trying to meet them halfway.”

This year, for instance, the closures will only run from Fifth street to Front Street. Last year, he tried to keep the weekend barricades down until most restaurants closed, and had his officers work with community members to paint the barricades in bright colors to make them more welcoming. Since taking over command, he has parked a patrol car in front of each barricade to make sure racers cannot simply remove them, and places zigzagging gates on sidewalks to prevent dirt bike riders from jumping the curb at intersections.

During weekends, decisions on the barricades will be made on a nightly basis, he said. This weekend, he plans on monitoring the holiday crowds, and any nuisance behavior before making a call, he said.

“I’ll be out there this weekend, and it will be a feeling I get: ‘OK, we have to shut them down.’”