Welcome to Philadelphia, the city of Brotherly Love. Below is a guide for
driving through some of our neighborhoods, and a guide for navigating some
of our more "intimidating" roads.
1. A high percentage of neighborhoods have one way streets. Please be
aware that some of our streets are 2 way to a certain point, then,
suddenly become one way.
2. Some of our roads do not have visible double yellow lines. Just because
you can't see them does not mean they don't exist.
3. A lot of our neighborhoods have on street parking. Some people will
not think twice about swinging their car door into your path when
getting into and out of their cars. Please be aware of this.
4. Double parking is an accepted practice in the city.
5. So is blocking off the parking space in front of one's house. If you
move someone's stuff out of their "saved" parking space, the person
whose stuff you moved will forget that they're in the city of brotherly
love, and will beat the crap out of you.
6. The mass transit system for Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs
is called SEPTA (SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportaion Authority).
They operate roughly 75 bus lines in the city, an roughly 45 more in
the suburbs.
6a. SEPTA buses will not pull over when picking up and leaving off passengers.
If you are stuck behind a bus on some streets, YOU'RE STUCK.
6b. If a bus gets pulled over by a cop, it's a major inconvenience to the
passengers. Cops know this, and will not pull a bus over. Bus drivers
also know this, and accordingly drive like idiots.
7. Speed limits:
7a. Posted 30 mph on most major streets.
7b. Posted 25 mph on most other streets.
7c. By PA state law, on any urban street that doesn't have a posted speed
limit, the speed limit is 35.
8. It is legal to cross a double yellow (visible or not) under the following
circumstances ONLY!
8a. To get around a double parked vehicle
8b. To get around a SEPTA bus that's stopped at a bus stop
9. Some of our NO TURN ON RED laws are effective 6AM to 6PM only (esp.
near a school zone). These are clearly marked.
10. In school zones, the speed limit is 15mph.
11. Our traffic laws are strictly enforced near Dunkin Donuts and Sunoco
Mini Marts. Otherwise, they're totally unenforceable.
NOW ONTO SOME OF OUR MORE "INTIMIDATING ROADS":
I-76:
1. This road is what happens when you let mental patients and drunks
design a highway.
2. On radio and TV, this is refered to as the Schuylkill Expressway. By
locals, it's more commonly refered to as the Surekill Distressway.
3. The posted speed limit through the city is 50mph. During rush hour,
you're lucky if you can get up to 15mph.
I-676:
1. On radio and TV, this is refered to as the Vine Street Expressway.
2. Once in a while, you may hear the frontage roads that run next to 676
refered to as "local Vine Street". Local Vine Street has been around
for over half a century before the Vine Street Expressway.
3. The term "Expressway" is used very loosely. Esp. during rush hour, this
road is more like a parking lot.
US-1:
1. From 9th Street to the Bucks County line, this road is refered to as Roosevelt
Boulevard ("The Boulevard" for short). It is a 12 lane road (3 local northbound
lanes, 3 express northbound lanes, 3 express southbound lanes, and 3 local
southbound lanes). For some reason, when people drive on this road, they
forget HOW to drive.
2. The speed limit is posted at 40mph between 9th Street and Cottman
Avenue, and 45mph between Cottman Avenue and the city limits. Don't
let the posted speed limits stop you from doing at least 55-65mph.
3. As tempting as it may be, DO NOT blow any red lights along this road.
At selected intersections, there are red light cameras.
4. If you have out of state tags, sometimes motorists will leave a "halo"
around your car. It takes us several years to be confident driving on
this road. We assume anyone without a PA license plate is intimidated
by this road.
I-95:
1. During rush hour, it moves slowly.
2. During all other hours, you can get a good pace going. It's signed at
55mph. Usually, 60-65 is a good rule of thumb.
Click here for other driving guides.
