Black Lives Matter Painted On A Wall
Black Lives Matter – Feet First Philly stands in solidarity with the black community and the Black Lives Matter movement against racism, inequality, and police violence. As pedestrian advocates, our goal is to promote walking and rolling and make Philadelphia’s sidewalks and roadways safe for everyone. People of color, especially black men, women, children, and LGBTQIAP+ folks, are not free to travel streets and sidewalks without fear of violence, profiling, and discrimination. Everyone has the right to walk and roll without fear for their life and to live in safe, healthy, resilient, and walkable communities.
In addition, Feet First Philly is joining other groups in removing armed police enforcement from our list of asks and goals. The Not A Parking Spot campaign will no longer share illegal parking reports with police districts, and instead share only with the PPA. Calling on police to enforce these infractions risks an altercation that could escalate to a dangerous situation and a potentially fatal outcome, trading one unsafe condition on our streets for another. The data we receive through Not A Parking Spot will continue to be documented and used to highlight hotspots of illegal parking to decision makers. Not A Parking Spot’s advocacy will focus on designing streets to better prevent illegal parking in crosswalks and on sidewalks, educating Philadelphia residents about the dangers that illegal parking creates for pedestrians, and increasing enforcement of dangerous illegal parking by the PPA.
Systemic racism in planning practices and policies, such as redlining and stop-and-frisk, have resulted in disinvestment and inequitable communities. Beyond police violence, people of color are more likely to be the victims of traffic violence. In Philadelphia, these preventable deaths and serious injuries are concentrated in areas like North Philadelphia, Kensington, and Hunting Park — historically low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. By reallocating funding and resources and investing in communities of color, we can help eliminate pedestrian deaths and serious injuries and begin to address systemic racism.
We recognize that there are shortcomings within Feet First Philly. Our steering committee does not represent the diversity of the City of Philadelphia. We recognize our privilege and power in advocating for pedestrians and we must examine what we can do differently, so that we can work with communities across Philadelphia to reimagine and foster safe, vibrant streets and spaces. Feet First Philly commits to listening to communities of color and strengthening our efforts to become a responsible and diverse pedestrian advocacy group.
Feet First Philly commits to continually educating ourselves on race, equity, and accessibility so we can use our platform to speak up against racism and to dismantle racist systems. We invite Philadelphians from every neighborhood to join us at the Feet First Philly table to share their perspective on pedestrian travel in their communities. With this broader vision and knowledge, together we can build safer, accessible, and inclusive streets and communities throughout Philadelphia. If you have suggestions or comments, please send Feet First Philly an email at feetfirstphilly@cleanair.org.
Feet First Philly 