The city’s Washington Avenue head-fake reveals the sham of ‘community engagement’ | Editorial

On Saturday, Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability tweeted a press release announcing an update on the plan to repave Washington Avenue: narrowing most of the busy thoroughfare from five lanes to three lanes is no longer an option. Not long ago, in September 2020, officials announced that the “road diet” was the “final design” selected after an “extensive community engagement” process. The repaving project would utilize federal funds.

The description of the design as “final” and of the engagement process as “extensive” came from city officials. The trade-off: a safer avenue for pedestrians vs. an estimated 15 seconds ride per block during rush hour. The plan was the top choice of 71% of the 5,458 people who responded to a city-sponsored survey. The city also held 23 community meetings with 22 registered community organizations and civic groups about Washington Avenue’s future.

The plan was in line with Philadelphia’s goal of zero traffic fatalities by 2030, and the safest option according to the city’s most current documents.

But on Saturday morning, Philadelphia learned that the design wasn’t final and that the engagement process wasn’t extensive. Moreover, the proposal failed to meet the city’s equity goals, according to a statement. So instead, officials decided to eliminate the three-lane plan from consideration. In a statement to The Inquirer, a city spokesperson wrote that the change of course is because, throughout the project’s eight years, there has “never been significant support for any type of road diet” from communities of color along the corridor.

What data support this assertion, and why didn’t this insight shape the community outreach process or the final design choice?

Councilmembers Mark Squilla and Kenyatta Johnson, whose districts are bisected by Washington Avenue, lauded the decision.

The choice to abandon a good and seemingly popular proposal is concerning. The way “community engagement” has been cynically used in this process is infuriating.

No community outreach process is perfect, and inherently those with more privilege will have an easier time to engage — that’s before taking into account the pandemic. This episode suggests that the level of engagement officials want is the level that gets them their desired outcome.

» READ MORE: Philly scraps three-lane Washington Avenue safety plan, bowing to pressure

A 90-minute virtual hearing on redistricting, in which many city residents expressed their displeasure, was more than enough to get Squilla and Johnson (and the rest of their colleagues) to advance the redrawn borders of their own councilmanic districts. Councilmember Johnson applauded the community engagement that led to the now-controversial FDR Park Master Plan, which engaged fewer people than the Washington Avenue process.

Members of Council use their prerogative to approve developments all the time with no proactive outreach to the community, but even after 10 years, the Washington Avenue engagement process was not enough.

It is appropriate for the city to be concerned with equity in the community engagement process. City officials had the option to expand the outreach, to include more voices, and to keep all options on the table. Instead, they tossed out the safest option. The message for the thousands of community members who did weigh in on the future of Washington Avenue is clear: The next time the city asks residents for input, why bother?