Philadelphia police step up presence on Aramingo and Island avenues with hopes of reducing crashes
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police are stepping up their presence in high-traffic areas to reduce traffic collisions and fatalities.
They say they have seen an increase in accidents and fatalities since 2020 and they are trying to decrease it. Officers will be cracking down on aggressive driving, including speeding and disregarding traffic signals.
Their traffic enforcement will focus on Aramingo Avenue between Somerset Street to Frankfort Creek and Island Avenue between Bartram and Woodland avenues.
Police say so far this year, they have seen about 26,000 accidents and 61 crash-related deaths, a slight decrease from this time last year.
"And that's the point of these enhanced enforcements, to see if there are ways that we can knock down the crashes even more and make things safer," Deputy Commissioner Michael Cram said.
Drivers say they have experienced the aggressive driving firsthand.
"They always driving crazy and cut before people. So I just take my time and be safe," Marionette Phillips said.
The enforcement along Aramingo and Island avenues will last through Aug. 30.
Police believe their presence will make a difference because they have seen success in previous areas like North Broad Street, Bustleton Avenue and Frankford Avenue.
"If you look at all of the initiatives that we have done so far this year, we have done over 3,000 car stops and over 2,000 moving violations for reckless driving and red lights. We did parking violations over 300. A lot of them were on Broad Street and we did live stops for 105 cars. And these cars were legally not allowed to be on the street," Deputy Commissioner James Kelly said.
Drivers say they hope it makes a difference and most of all keeps drivers safe.
"I am glad," Phillips said. "That that would be great. It would make the area safe and bring more people to the area."