October 09, 2024
Thom Carroll/for PhillyVoice
Jefferson Health has stayed mostly quiet on the 76ers arena plans as they have progressed.
Walter Tsou was once the top health official for Philadelphia. But earlier this week, he traded a white coat for a white T-shirt as he recorded a message on behalf of the Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania.
The public health nonprofit announced its opposition to the proposed 76ers arena through a video featuring Tsou on Monday. PSR PA, which has 3,000 members, believes the traffic from games would negatively impact emergency services to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, which is roughly two blocks away from the proposed site.
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"It will tie up traffic on 10th Street, the major conduit to Jefferson's emergency room," Tsou said in the video. "And it's going to happen that somebody in transit stuck in traffic is going to die because of this. That, to me, is simply unacceptable."
Tsou, who was Philadelphia's health commissioner from 2000 to 2002, is the latest medical voice to join the coalition of anti-arena activists. Since at least March, a group of emergency medicine workers has been organizing as No Arena Jeff Med — now, No Arena Philly Med. Its members say they are "deeply worried about our ability to provide the best care possible" in an open letter against the plans, citing "a massive influx of traffic into the areas around the hospital" and the team's proposed one-lane road closures on 10th and 11th streets after games.
These emergency medicine workers aren't just worried about ambulances sitting in gridlock, delaying urgent medical care. They also say arena plans could force the hospital to divert emergency vehicles to other medical hubs farther away. Since the shuttering of Hahnemann University Hospital in 2019, Jefferson has the neighborhood's only Level 1 adult trauma center, which is designed to handle the most critical cases.
Tsou believes regular medical appointments will also be impacted.
"Routine regular visits to your doctor's offices downtown are gonna be inhibited, I think, because of the mere construction that's happening," he said. "Five or six years they're going to be constructing this arena. So it's not just on game day. ... And I think it's not just Jefferson. I mean, Market Street's a major conduit for everybody in the eastern part of Philadelphia to get any type of medical service."
76 DevCo, the developer arm behind the arena, declined to comment on Tsou's video or PSR PA's opposition. But it has previously proposed mitigation measures like a preemption system that would switch red traffic signals to green for incoming ambulances. The city's traffic impact study, released in August, said the city should consider installing the necessary infrastructure for this system.
Jefferson Hospital is barely mentioned in that report, but two blocks that are across the street from the hospital are discussed in more detail. The team has proposed Chestnut Street between 10th and 11 streets as one of three "loading zones" for Uber and Lyft drivers ferrying fans to and from the games. The consultants who authored the impact study suggested 76 DevCo extend the zone along Chestnut Street to the corner of 9th, while cautioning that the team must coordinate with the hospital to "minimize conflicts."
It's difficult to quantify how strongly pre- and postgame traffic peaks would clash with the hospital's busiest hours. Jefferson Health did not respond to requests for data on its ER's rush periods, nor comment on Tsou's video. The health system has stayed mostly quiet on the arena plans as they have progressed, particularly in recent months. Mayor Cherelle Parker formally endorsed the proposal in September, sending the legislation necessary to approve it to City Council. It will likely be introduced at the Oct. 24 legislative session.
The city didn't immediately clarify whether it intends to study traffic impacts on Jefferson Hospital beyond the brief mentions in the existing report. It also didn't respond to request for comment on the concerns raised by Tsou and other medical professionals who oppose the arena.
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