🚗💨 Neutralizing the need for speed on the Boulevard | Morning Newsletter

After a bit of a respite, it’s fantastic to be back with you all on a day expected to mirror yesterday, with sunny skies and temperatures in the 70s. 😎

Today we analyze the success story (with a twist) that has been the reduction of fatal accidents after the installation of speed cameras.

Also, with the May primary less than a week away, we look at the cautionary tale Pa. GOP candidates are realizing when trying to reinvent Donald Trump’s MAGA rhetoric. 🔒

If you see this 🔒 in today’s newsletter, that means we’re highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

— Kerith Gabriel (@sprtswtr, morningnewsletter@inquirer.com)

Roosevelt Boulevard has always felt like a death trap to me. With interior and exterior lanes that mimic the Parkway — and people navigating them like a four-lane stretch of I-95 — it’s an arterial that many (✋🏽, included) try to avoid.

But traffic is said to have slowed considerably over the last two years as automatic cameras have been enforcing speed limits, according to Philadelphia Parking Authority data. These numbers tell what appears to have been a success story.

🚗💨 91.4%: The amount that speeding violations have declined since June 2020, when cameras were first installed.

🚗💨 39: The number of drivers caught traveling in excess of 100 mph during the first month of the program, compared with just eight snagged as of last November.

🚗💨 30%: The average monthly collisions on the boulevard have dropped compared with the rest of Philadelphia and by 50% compared with other three- and four-lane road segments in the city, according to PennDot crash data from the first seven months of the program.

🚗💨 17%: The rate in which crash fatalities decreased on the Boulevard but rose by 81% on other major arterial roads, based on average monthly police tallies in 2019 and from the beginning of the camera program, through 2021.

But, Pennsylvania’s experiment with speed cameras is scheduled to run out in October 2023. Our reporter Thomas Fitzgerald takes a look at the pros and cons of the camera programs and where they might go next.

David McCormick just might have realized he’s not Trump-y enough to win Pa.’s candidacy for Senate.

Due in large part to the rhetoric of former President Donald Trump, the GOP has found itself redefined, as America First and MAGA ideals have modified the mindset of many party supporters.

McCormick found this out the hard way during a recent campaign stop in Western Pennsylvania — and earlier this month after Trump lambasted him, choosing to align with celebrity doc Mehmet Oz.

Mind you, this is all despite McCormick positioning himself as an “America First” candidate.

Now, McCormick enters the final days of a close race in which he’s spent well over $11 million of his own dollars to promote, carrying the wrecking ball Trump just dropped on him.

Our reporters Jonathan Tamari and Anna Orso provide this look at what it means to be a GOP candidate in Pa., in the aftermath of the Trump administration. 🔒

Also with the primary fast approaching next Tuesday, check out our:

🗳️ Pennsylvania Voter Guide, and

🗳️ This look at the candidates running for Senate and governor.

Recording artist Jason Derulo is becoming a regular on the Wawa Welcome America! stage. Derulo will again headline the concert, this year alongside pop star Ava Max when the festival returns on Independence Day weekend. Today’s question: When was the last time Derulo headlined the festival? Take a guess and find the answer here.

a. 2018

b. 2019

c. 2020

d. 2021

🏀 Wondering: Sixers coach Doc Rivers’ reaction to Joel Embiid not winning the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award is exactly how you’d expect Doc to react.

👏🏽 Applauding: Our colleagues who are Pulitzer finalists for The Inquirer’s Under Fire series, examining the unforeseen effects of Philly’s rampant gun violence epidemic.

🐶 Noticing: There aren’t enough veterinarians to take care of the pets that homebodies acquired during the pandemic.

The Philly park that became an entire neighborhood.

QUIT REEFS RAL

Think you know? Send your guess our way at morningnewsletter@inquirer.com. We’ll give a shoutout to a reader at random who answers correctly. Today’s shoutout goes to Jan Dalina of Philadelphia, who correctly guessed RAY DIDINGER as Tuesday’s answer.

It’s great to be back. I want to thank my colleagues who stepped in and delivered the news you needed to know each morning and to you for getting started each day with The Inquirer.

Until tomorrow, Philly. ✌️