Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Phila. is intricately involved in the response. "I'm on site with city, state and federal officials. We're assessing the situation and working with PEMA and the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management," Neilson said. "We will provide critical updates as soon as we have more details, but for now please stay away from the area." Read more
HARRISBURG, July 3 – State Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Phila., led a last-minute effort on Friday to enact legislation allowing Interstate 95 reconstruction work to continue by extending the governor’s emergency proclamation before it expired. After a truck tanker caught fire and the extreme heat caused a portion of I-95 to collapse, Gov. Josh Shapiro issued an emergency proclamation on June 12 to acquire federal emergency funds and cut through red tape to expedite the rebuilding of the collapsed road. Due to a 2021 constitutional amendment, the governor’s proclamation would have expired after 21 days, July 3, unless the General Assembly voted to extend it. Neilson said this limitation on proclamations was enacted to stop supposed overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. “The emergency declaration was due to expire today, July 3, which would have brought the entire project to a halt and could have jeopardized the federal funding needed to complete it in an expedited manner,” Neilson said. The House of Representatives previously adopted Neilson’s H.R. 154 on June 26, which would have extended the governor’s emergency declaration by one year to give the Shapiro administration enough time and resources to complete the permanent reconstruction. However, the Senate never considered it. As time was running out and it appeared that budget negotiations would continue beyond the Read more
State Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Phila., moved quickly today to pass legislation to help repair Interstate 95 by extending Gov. Josh Shapiro’s emergency declaration before it expires in the coming days. After a truck tanker caught fire and the extreme heat caused a portion of I-95 to collapse, Shapiro issued an emergency proclamation on June 12 to acquire federal emergency funds and cut through red tape to expedite the rebuilding of the collapsed road. Due to a 2021 constitutional amendment, the governor’s proclamation expires after 21 days (on July 3) unless the General Assembly votes to extend it. Neilson said this limitation was enacted to stop supposed overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. “It will cause problems for the entire region if we don’t extend the proclamation,” Neilson said. “It will halt the reconstruction efforts and cause unnecessary delays in rebuilding this critical bridge.” The House Transportation Committee, chaired by Neilson, unanimously approved S.R. 136, introduced by state Sen. Jimmy Dillon, whose district includes the collapsed portion of I-95. Dillon’s bill originally extended the governor’s emergency declaration by one year to give the administration enough time and resources to complete the permanent reconstruction. However, it was amended by the Senate Veterans Affairs & Emergency Preparedness Committee to only extend it to Nov. 1, 2023. It passed the Senate on June 28. Read more
Legislation authored by state Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Phila., chair of the House Transportation Committee, that would renew and expand automated enforcement programs throughout Philadelphia, passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives today with bipartisan support. House Bill 1284 would eliminate the December 2023 expiration date of the Automated Speed Enforcement Program along Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia. It would also expand the ASE program to all roads in Philadelphia, contingent on PennDOT’s approval and the city’s adoption of a local ordinance and make necessary improvements to the ASE program. The ASE program on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia, first implemented in June 2020, uses cameras to detect and record motorists exceeding the posted speed limit by 11 miles per hour or more along the boulevard. Crashes along Roosevelt Boulevard have declined by 36% since speed cameras were deployed, while total crashes in the rest of the city, where there are no speed cameras, have only declined by 6%. According to the Philadelphia Parking Authority, the ASE program has reduced speeding along Roosevelt Boulevard by a staggering 95%. Finally, and most importantly, Neilson said, the bill would protect schoolchildren on their walks through busy school zones by making fixes to the current law that authorizes school districts to use automated school bus stop-arm cameras and establishing a five-year pilot program for speed cameras in active Read more
“We must recognize the fact that our country is at the beginning stages of changing gas-powered vehicles to electric vehicles,” Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Philadelphia, said. “We need to be certain that our roads and bridges can still be maintained, repaired, and replaced … we can no longer depend on gas taxes to be the sole source of funding to maintain our infrastructure and roadways.” Read more
A resolution that would extend to next June Gov. Josh Shapiro’s emergency disaster declaration issued in the response to the collapse of a bridge on I-95 in Philadelphia passed the state House of Representatives. Read more
Neilson said, the bill would protect schoolchildren on their walks through busy school zones by making fixes to the current law that authorizes school districts to use automated school bus stop-arm cameras and establishing a five-year pilot program for speed cameras in active school zones. Read more
Unless the Senate also acts on Neilson’s resolution, that emergency proclamation will run out in 21 days (July 2) because of a constitutional amendment added to the state constitution in 2021, in which emergency declarations by the governor may only last for 21 days. Neilson said this limitation was enacted to stop supposed overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more
The program, which is currently in use on Roosevelt Boulevard, is set to expire in December, but Philadelphia Democrat Ed Neilson is looking to change that with a bill that would not only get rid of the expiration date, but allow Philadelphia to expand the use of speed cameras beyond the boulevard. Read more
“I am grateful for my colleagues on the House Transportation Committee who voted to help all of Pennsylvania by ensuring the speedy and safe reconstruction of I-95,” Neilson said. “I-95 is such an important road, not only in Philadelphia, but the entire East Coast, and we need to extend the emergency proclamation for at least a year to ensure the project is fully funded and completed.” Read more
“Ninety-five is such an important artery here in the Northeast,” Neilson said. “Everyone came out to help when we needed it and I’m full of gratitude for each and every person who made a difference on this.” Read more
State Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Phila., chair of the PA House Transportation Committee, has introduced House Resolution 154, which seeks to extend Gov. Josh Shapiro’s emergency proclamation for the safe and prompt rebuilding of Interstate 95, one of the busiest highways in Pennsylvania, carrying an average of 160,000 vehicles daily. Read more
In Philadelphia, the regulations cause problems for a pre-existing local ordinance. Before the state law passed, Philadelphia’s off-road vehicle law had stronger provisions, but that has now been superseded by the legislature.One way to find a compromise would be to exempt the city and let it reimplement its more-stringent law — a policy advocated by Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Philadelphia. Read more
Although our speed camera enforcement program is having a dramatic impact on public safety on Roosevelt Boulevard, it is set to legislatively expire in December unless the General Assembly acts to make it permanent. Currently, State Rep. Ed Neilson has sponsored legislation that would do just that, while also permitting the use of automated enforcement cameras to protect children on school buses and in designated school zones. Read more
A bill authored by state Rep. Ed Neilson, advanced out of the House Transportation Committee today that would make Pennsylvania a safer place for drivers and pedestrians alike. Read more
At a Pa. House Transportation Committee meeting one day after the collapse disaster on Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, Chairman Rep. Ed Neilson thanks the first responders and officials who came to Northeast Philadelphia to assist in the response and recovery. Read more
According to the AWZSE Annual Legislative Report, speeding in AWZSE enforced work zones has been reduced to 17.2% for all traffic, and excessive speeding (11+ mph over the posted speed limit) has been reduced to 2.6% since the start of the program. Read more
Rep. Ed Neilson, D-Philadelphia, majority chairman of the House Transportation Committee, has announced plans for legislation that would expand the use of speed cameras — which have been in use since 2020 in active work zones and on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia. Read more
Legislation afoot at the Pennsylvania statehouse addresses concerns about turnpike tolling from multiple angles. Read more
“This bill takes us in a better direction and to get those resources back to where they belong, fixing roads,” Neilson said during Monday’s committee meeting. Read more
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