Post a commentBad planning! Market Street already has subway stops on the El and the riverfront won't have critical mass for rail for decades. They should be expanding the existing line to 30th Street Station OR completing the loop that was planned for center city when that line was built. This is a disappointing decision...
What a waste. Utter waste. Duplicate service down a congested street. Are they going to call it "homeless express" or the "east market cash for gold shuttle"
More inept planning and wasting of taxpayer money to put a rail line where a rail line already exists. Everyday the city seems to find another way to just flush our money away.
Sounds good to me. Could reduce cars on Columbus Blvd.
I like it. Just don't let Septa run it.
looks like the poor souls from Jersey are getting another toll increase
This is absurd. We can't get our trolley back on the 23 through Germantown, Mt. Airy, and Chestnut Hill, but they want to go with this? A trolley on the 23 would mean so much more. Putting a trolley on Market Street just duplicates service. What we really need is more subways up critical streets north-south streets such as 5th and 22nd as well as subways under east-west streets such as South and Spring Garden. This can help take buses off the streets and reduce congestion.
Surface trolleys run from Southwest and West Philadelphia, head to U City, go underground and duplicate the Market St El, bus lines, and auto traffic all heading East to converge at City Hall. This will mirror the Western sector of mass transit. Having the line go down to The Navy Yard, the stadium area, along the Ikea shopping district and North from The Tacony Palmyra bridge, connecting to City Hall makes a lot of sense for encouraging riverfront development, not just around Spring Garden to Washington Ave, but all of the river. It is necessary infrastructure that will pay off by selling the value of the riverfront as an auto free area connected to jobs, entertainment, shopping and cultural destinations.
"If the DRPA can find the estimated $500 million for the project, trolleys could be operating by 2016." Gee, I wonder where their going to "find" the 1/2 Billion Dollars? Isn't the DRPA broke? Maybe they'll find it lying on the street? Surely the astronomical tolls we all pay to support their pork projects won't go up.
Does anyone remember the vintage trolley cars that ran up and down the waterfront, were maintained and operated by volunteers FOR FREE, and the city threw them out? And now they want to spend $500,000,000 to bring it back? I HATE THIS CITY!!!!!
Don't worry...this project will never happen. Your tax dollar is safe.
An absurd idea. The future is definitely NOT in "light rail." People 20 years from now will be moving around much, much faster. Where's the high speed rail??
Many of you are confused....this is more DRPA than the city. This is not the city's idea and it is not a choice of this line or the 23, etc. Bashing the city or SEPTA doesn't make sense here. Bash the state gov'ts on PA and NJ!
Cardfael: I do remember the Penn's Landing volunteer trolleys. Yes, the city did throw them out. Those guys moved to Scranton (next to Steamtown), and have been a corner stone in the sucessful revitalization of that city. I guess Philly didn't know what they had?
Comment removed.
56 comments | View All Comments | View All By Latest
