Policy Priorities for the FY2027 Budget: Building a More Livable Philadelphia

TO: Mayor Cherelle Parker & Members of Philadelphia City Council
SUBJECT: Policy Priorities for the FY2027 Budget: Building a More Livable Philadelphia

We urge the Mayor and City Council to fund proven solutions that make Philadelphia more accessible, sustainable, and equitable. 

PUBLIC TRANSIT

Working in coalition with Transit Forward Philadelphia, we echo the requests to restore funding to the Zero Fare Program, SEPTA Key Advantage for City Employees. In addition, we seek the expansion of student transit passes, and investment in bus shelters and a permanent intercity bus terminal.

$30M — Restore the Zero Fare Program

Free SEPTA access for 25,000 low-income Philadelphians — recorded over 4.3 million trips in its first year. The program was launched with one-time federal ARPA dollars that have now run out. Without a dedicated City General Fund appropriation, the program dies. $30M makes it permanent, helps build ridership, and provides transit access to struggling Philadelphians.

$9M — Preserve SEPTA Key Advantage for City Employees

SEPTA passes for roughly 15,000 City workers — supporting recruitment, retention, and transit ridership. FY26 maintained the program through a one-time accounting workaround that can't be repeated. $9M restores it as a permanent dedicated appropriation.

$4.5M — Expand Student Transit Passes

63,000 eligible 7th–12th graders receive Student SEPTA Passes — but they only work between 5:30am and 8pm, on school days. In New York City, student passes work 24/7 year-round. The State pays $34M for this program and this estimated budget line item would expand the passes to work 24/7. This estimate is based on the approximate 13% increase to expand student pass hours in NYC.

$5M — Expand Bus Shelters at High-Need Stops

SEPTA operates roughly 6,000 bus stops within Philadelphia, but fewer than 500 have a shelter. A City Capital fund would let the City install narrow, ad-free shelters at high-ridership stops that the current ad-funded program doesn't reach.

$1M — Planning for a Permanent Intercity Bus Terminal

Philadelphia has no permanent intercity bus facility since the Greyhound terminal closed. A DVRPC feasibility study is underway near 30th Street Station, but no City capital is committed. $1M advances the project to site selection and preliminary design — the prerequisite for competing for federal construction funds.

VISION ZERO

Alongside our partner Philly Bike Action, we seek a $26 million FY27 investment towards vision zero to stem the tide of roadway deaths in Philadelphia. The administration's Vision Zero Action Plan 2030 details multiple goals that lack funding, including Neighborhood Slow Zones, Neighborhood Bikeways, protected bike lanes, and expanded capacity for traffic calming requests.

$8M — Fund 5 Neighborhood Slow Zones

An extremely popular program to slow neighborhood traffic — often around schools — by lowering speed limits to 20 mph and installing curb extensions and speed cushions. Over 30 neighborhoods apply each round, but in 7 years only 5 out of 7 approved Slow Zones have been built — less than one per year. Even the City’s unambitious 2030 target of one zone per year remains unfunded. Neighborhood Slow Zones cost up to $1.5 million each; the City could fully fund this program without any external grants.

$5M — Build 2 Neighborhood Bikeways

Neighborhood Bikeways create safer, slower, more walkable neighborhood streets that fill gaps in the bike network without specifically adding new bike lanes. Over the last two years, community-supported projects have finished concepts and engagement in Germantown and Fishtown, but lack funding to build. Neighborhood Bikeways cost $1.5–2 million each; the City could fully fund this program without any external grants.

$10M — Protect 10 Miles of Existing Bike Lanes with Concrete

Only 8.4% of Philly’s bike lanes are “separated” = safe. This figure includes flex posts, which offer minimal protection compared to concrete curbs that slow cars on impact. Concrete curb separation is the gold standard of safety common in other cities. Per City figures, 4 miles of concrete pills and planters would cost $4.8 million; $10 million protects 10 miles of existing bike lanes.

$2.5M — Begin Universal Daylighting, Citywide

“Daylighting” prevents illegal parking near crossings, significantly increasing visibility for pedestrians and drivers. $2.5 million is enough to implement daylighting at 1,500 high-crash intersections with the vision to expand citywide.

HOUSING & SAFE HEALTHY HOMES

We support efforts by the Administration to build or preserve 30,000 homes, and see the funding of a revolving loan as key to achieving that goal. Additionally, we strongly support budget line items in line with the Safe Healthy Homes Act to protect our most vulnerable renters.

Capitalize a $100M Revolving Loan Fund for Housing Production

Over 20,000 permitted housing units are approved to build but sitting idle — developers can’t get affordable construction financing in today’s high-interest-rate environment. This fund, already authorized by Council through the HOME bond program, provides low-cost city loans to fill that gap, building mixed-income housing with roughly 30% affordable units and no federal strings attached. Unlike a grant, the money comes back: loans repay in 3–5 years when projects convert to permanent financing, and the capital revolves into the next round. The city’s upfront commitment is the capitalization; the long-term cost is the spread between the 1–5% loan rate and what the city pays to borrow.

$10M — Fund Proactive Rental Inspections at L&I

Fewer than 1 in 10 Philadelphia rentals gets inspected in a given year — and inspections only happen after a tenant files a complaint, which many avoid out of fear of retaliation. When Rochester, NY implemented proactive inspections in 2005, childhood lead poisoning dropped 85% by 2012. $10M funds the staff and resources for L&I to run a pilot proactive inspection program so problems get caught before someone gets sick.

$10M — Restore and Expand Built to Last

Built to Last provides free home repairs to low-income homeowners — fixing roofs, heating systems, and other serious hazards. The Parker administration called the program’s current $5M a “one-time” expense with no new funding in FY27. This ask doubles that funding and puts it on stable footing.

Fund the Anti-Displacement Fund

Council passed a law authorizing a fund to cover moving costs for renters forced out when the city condemns a property as uninhabitable — but it remains unfunded. This ask is for the Parker Administration to propose a dollar amount in the FY27 budget so the law Council already passed can actually go into effect.

PARKS, RECREATION & FREE LIBRARY

The following requests are for additional funding for the staffing and maintenance for parks, rec centers and libraries to bring us in line with the investment seen in peer cities. This is in line with previous years’ requests from the Parks & Rec Heroes Fund.

$8.8M Increase — Staff to Keep Rec Centers Open

The FY26 city budget allocated just $53 per resident in the operating budget to Parks & Rec — leaving hundreds of positions vacant and centers routinely closing when only one staffer shows up. $8.8M is targeted entirely at staffing: enough to keep centers open on consistent schedules, expand after-school programming, and eventually adding the social workers and security staff that the union DC33 has long pushed for.

$4.4M Increase — Basic Parks & Recreation Maintenance

This funds the unglamorous work that prevents small problems from becoming expensive ones: tree removal, field repairs, bathroom maintenance, and facility cleaning — so the parks and community centers Rebuild renovated don’t quietly deteriorate once the construction crews leave.

$3.25M Increase — Open Every Library Six Days a Week

The Free Library’s FY26 budget was essentially flat — less than $45,000 in new money — leaving the system unable to guarantee six-day service at all 54 branches. Library leadership has estimated that adding a sixth day costs roughly $3.25M, covering the staff needed so branches stop closing unexpectedly. At a moment when federal library funding faces new threats while demands on library services continue to grow, Philadelphia should be working to expand access to its public libraries, not leave it up to chance.