The city changed the direction of a Kensington street, but not everyone is following the new flow

Flashing warnings and new street signs are no match for Philadelphians set in their driving habits.

The city has switched the direction of a portion of Adams Avenue in Kensington. The one-way street used to flow east toward Frankford Avenue, but flipped directions on the morning of April 15.

Now, it flows westbound from Frankford Avenue to Ruan Street, and from Ruan to Church Street it has been changed to a two-way.

But some drivers are still traveling down the street in their familiar direction, turning the street into an unintentional and potentially dangerous two-way.

The city made the change at the request of local business owners, according to Department of Streets spokesperson Chris Young. Those businesses were having trouble accessing their facilities after a previous street change, which turned another portion of Adams Avenue — the section between Church and East Wingohocking Streets — into a one-way.

Danielle Kearney said she thought the city workers were making a mistake when she saw them putting up new street signage on the corner of Adams Avenue. She is the office manager at Domestic Uniform Rental, a uniform and facility services supplier that takes up an entire block of the newly directed street.

The change has “made a mess of the neighborhood here,” and is “disrupting a whole business operation,” she said. Domestic Uniform was unaware that the change was happening until the morning the signage was switched out, she said.

Not everyone has adhered to the new traffic rules. Vehicles now travel in both directions down the street, even though there was large flashing signage on each side of Kensington Avenue warning drivers not to turn onto Adams Avenue, plus updated one-way signs. Google Maps still shows the old street directions, as of Monday.

Joseph Todd, a local resident who has used the street for years to pick his wife up from her job at Domestic Uniform, said he was surprised he hasn’t heard about a crash yet. Todd said he’s seen school buses traveling the newly wrong direction down the street. He doesn’t blame them; he said the change seemed sudden.

“She’s been going the right way for God knows how long,” he said.

It is not unusual for the city to change the direction of streets, but it doesn’t happen every day, either. Last year, the Department of Streets reviewed and changed the direction of eight streets, Young said.

The process typically begins with a request to City Council from residents or business owners, like with the group of Schuylkill residents who successfully advocated to change the direction of LeCount Street last year after frequent bike and pedestrian accidents.

» READ MORE: LeCount Street residents relieved Philly has changed traffic direction after crashes

The city may also consider changing the direction of a street as part of a development or transportation project. The city also considers traffic flow and accessibility. In any case, the city conducts a traffic study beforehand to ensure the change is “warranted and feasible,” Young said.

Adams Avenue is a frequently used street for a number of small businesses in the area and residences west of Kensington Avenue. It also provides access to the Joseph Deni Recreation Center and its large field.

Ahead of the Adams Avenue change, Young said City Council held meetings with businesses and residents and knocked on doors to discuss the matter. Council representatives also attended a community meeting where it was mentioned.

But word never got to Elisha Webb & Son Company, a marine supply store on the corner of Adams and Ruan Street, that change was coming, employees said. They now have to drive a roundabout way to get in and out of work, and see some drivers heading the wrong direction, including trash trucks.

Security workers at the Philadelphia County Assistance Office on Frankford Avenue said they haven’t heard complaints or seen traffic issues since the change, despite visitors frequently using the street. It hasn’t changed much for Ahmed Rashid, the other of Speed up Auto Repair on the corner of Adams and Kensington Avenues, either.

Domestic Uniform appears to have suffered the most interruption. Its trucks travel in and out of the facility’s loading dock to make deliveries, including its overnight tractor-trailer.

The 18-wheeler leaves Domestic Uniform every day around 5 p.m. to make deliveries as far as Harrisburg and Baltimore. It used to exit Adams Avenue onto the much wider Frankford Avenue, but because of the direction change, now it must make a difficult, tight turn onto busy Kensington Avenue.

Kearney said now Domestic Uniform workers must block off traffic on Kensington Avenue so their driver can even make the turn, and just hope there isn’t a car parked at the corner. If there is, the driver has no choice but to go out the old street direction, against incoming traffic.

“One of these days, we’re just waiting for the boom,” Kearney said.