Location
Philadelphia, PA
Client
Brandywine Realty Trust + Drexel University
Services
Traffic Engineering
Traffic Simulation + Modeling
Bike + Pedestrian Planning
Parking
Drexel Innovation Neighborhood/Schuylkill Yards Development
Image credit: SHoP Architects, West 8 Landscape, Architects, Brandywine Realty Trust
Working with SHoP Architects, Sam Schwartz prepared the traffic engineering and transportation planning elements of a master plan for a mixed-use redevelopment proposed by Drexel University and Brandywine Realty Trust. The Drexel Innovation Neighborhood, now called Schuylkill Yards, is an approximately 10-acre site with a projected development potential of more than 7 million square feet of new mixed-use space.
Work included preparing site-generated traffic and parking demand projections; preparing a Synchro/ SimTraffic model of the study area; advising on vehicular, pedestrian, bicycle, freight, and transit circulation and access; and developing intersection and roadway improvements to improve safety and minimize transportation impacts. Design elements included new pedestrian thoroughfares, protected cycle-tracks, street closures, and shared streets. Parking demand studies were performed to project future parking demand for each development phase and to identify opportunities for shared parking. Travel demand management strategies were also developed to minimize single-occupancy vehicle travel to the site. Sam Schwartz presented the traffic study results and potential mitigation measures to community representatives.