“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up-to-date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.
Join Transit for All PA, Transit Forward Philadelphia, and more, on Wednesday, August 6th, 11:00 AM at City Hall, to rally for transit funding that keeps SEPTA running and hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians rely on. Register here.
Mass Transit: PA: As Philly residents and schools brace for SEPTA cuts and late state funds, there’s no rush for a budget in Harrisburg – 52,000 public school students who rely on SEPTA services to commute to school may soon have to figure out alternative transportation, as the start of the school year looms without resolution on the overdue state budget. Without more funding, SEPTA will be forced to enact drastic service reductions beginning August 24th. School district officials, who are scheduled to meet with SEPTA officials next week, are also contending with the possibility of starting the school year without state funding.
Philly Voice: New swing bridge along Schuylkill River Trail in South Philly nears completion – This winter, a long-awaited swing bridge connecting Grays Ferry Crescent Park to Bartram’s Garden will be completed, allowing pedestrians and cyclists to cross the Schuylkill River. Dubbed “Schuylkill Crossing,” the project will extend the River Trail by 1.5 miles farther south. Crucially, the mechanism of a swing bridge allows it to swing open, on its vertical axis, to allow boats to pass.
WHYY: Glassboro-Camden Line closer than ever, but hurdles remain before construction can begin – The proposed 18-mile Glassboro-Camden Line would connect Glassboro to Camden’s Walter Rand Transportation Station, a nexus for Philadelphia rail connections and the River Line. Although the line would connect communities with sites like Rowan University and ultimately Philly, potentially boosting economic prosperity in South Jersey, residents have raised concerns over noise
Other Stories
BillyPenn: The Philly airport ranked 3rd-worst in the U.S. in a recent survey. Is it really that bad?
The Inquirer: A plan to improve SEPTA emerges from the GOP state Senate, with no funding attached
Trenton Daily: Mercer County Announces New Shuttle Service Between Trenton Mercer and Philadelphia Airport
MSN: Extreme heat causes SEPTA & Amtrak delays in Philadelphia
The Inquirer: As SEPTA cuts loom, patience is wearing thin for Democrats in Harrisburg
The point where the Wissahickon Creek meets the Schuylkill River has been an important link to travel in the area for thousands of years. Today, it’s highly congested with transit and vehicle traffic entering and exiting the Roosevelt and Schuylkill Expressways.
It’s a hub for SEPTA with 11 bus routes stopping at the Wissahickon Transportation Center, and the Wissahickon Regional Rail Station just a few hundred feet away, Two of the region’s most popular trails, the Schuylkill and Wissahickon, converge here as well. “We have all these modes of transportation butting heads here,” said Matt Wysong, Senior Planner at the Philadelphia Planning Commission. “That was an obvious issue we identified in this plan.”
Thousands of commuters pass through the Wissahickon Transportation Center (WTC) and along Ridge Avenue every day heading into Center City, and also west to the suburbs. The city’s Planning Commission has identified this part of the city as a focus area for improving service and accessibility to riders, and recently conducted a boots on the ground survey to find out what people think about their commute through this area.
“We are here today to talk to the people that use the area,” Wysong said. “To get a better understanding of what they see as the conditions on the ground, the issues and the greater opportunities.”
Wysong and a small group of surveyors from Clean Air Council and the city’s Planning Commission were out during peak hours, speaking to people getting off buses and riding bikes along the Wissahickon trail. Wysong told us that many people riding SEPTA often took more than one bus to get to their destination, and some even had commutes that were two hours long.
Wysong says he noticed the area is particularly hard for cyclists to navigate. “What I am observing here is that there is a lot of conflicts for bicyclists,” Wysong said. “They’re just trying to use every inch of space to kind of get through it somehow.” He pointed out that with no clear path through the area, cyclists run the risk of colliding with cars and pedestrians.
SEPTA recently received federal funding to update WTC, and Wysong tells us that SEPTA is looking to expand to the lot next door. He says this would allow for double the capacity of the current WTC. He also tells us that once SEPTA completes this project, Parks and Recreation wants to connect the Schuylkill River trail along the water.
Currently, trail users are forced to travel through this congested area before getting back on the Schuylkill River Trail. Once finished, the trail will eventually connect to the Pencoyd bridge over the Schuylkill River and allow riders to enjoy trails on either side of the river. This is one of the last remaining undeveloped segments of the Schuylkill River Trail, and once it’s linked up here, riders will be able to enjoy a safe ride all the way up to Pottsville.
For more info on the project and public hearings regarding the study click here.
