Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Philadelphia

The Summer Heat Can’t Melt This Famous Philly “Sneckdown” — It’s Here to Stay

Jon Geeting first saw traces in the snow of a safer passyunk Avenue in Philadelphia. Now, you can see it in concrete. Photos: Jon Geeting

A "sneckdown" is what you call the piles of snow that remain when drivers have carved out tracks after a winter storm. These patterns on the street show where there's plenty of space to expand the sidewalk or add a bike lane.

In a 2014 blog post, Jon Geeting highlighted more than a dozen of them along a single Philadelphia street. Geeting photographed sneckdowns on Passyunk Avenue and outlined them in a bold green. It turned out to be a highly effective way to communicate the idea -- the post was shared around the world.

It worked so well that one of the sneckdowns Geeting highlighted is now a permanent fixture on Passyunk Avenue, where the city cast it in concrete as a pedestrian island (above).

philadelphia sneckdown before

After Geeting's blog post when viral, Sam Sherman at the Passyunk Avenue Revitalization Corporation took up the cause with the city's streets department. Here's the result:

Philadelphia Sneckdown

"It's such a huge improvement for pedestrian safety in this area," said Geeting. "I'm hoping this success will be contagious and we'll soon see more pedestrian improvements at the rest of the intersections from the post."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines of Many Colors

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called rainbow crosswalks "a distraction" and called on cities to eliminate them.

July 8, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Big and Beautiful

The ginormous GOP tax and spending bill President Trump signed on July 4 will make the air dirtier, a lot of it from tailpipe emissions.

July 7, 2025

The Single Most Important Element In Creating Good Cities

A lot of U.S. cities are getting their "right of way" all wrong — and urbanists can help by getting to know this poorly-understood concept.

July 7, 2025

Reclaiming Streets from ICE with Music, Dance, Altars, Mutual Aid, Community, and Resistance

The Mariachi Plaza event was one of four held across LA. Tuesday night. The June 19 abduction of street vendor Emma de Paz from the Hollywood Home Depot was a touchstone of the Eastside gathering.

July 4, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Charged Up for the Fourth

The Republican megabill is bad for the electric vehicle industry, but it could be worse.

July 3, 2025

Why is the Secretary of Transportation Begging Americans to Take More Road Trips?

Instead of making America easier to see on all modes, the US Department of Transportation is encouraging U.S. residents to just get in their cars and drive.

July 3, 2025
See all posts