Build a better Delaware River waterfront, and Philadelphians will come to it - particularly if they have a good way to get there.
That's why the dream of extending trolley or light-rail service along Columbus Boulevard has been on the to-do list of waterfront planners for a decade.
So the unusual cooperation being explored now by regional transit agencies PATCO and SEPTA to extend transit's reach to the Delaware - and possibly the stadiums and City Hall - is both welcome and timely.
Of course, information sessions held in January by PATCO's parent, the Delaware River Port Authority, represent the first step on a long road. (See
» READ MORE: www.drpa.org
for details.) The build-out of any new transit line could take up to 10 years and cost $1 billion.
Working together, though, the transit agencies should have the expertise to devise the best plan for waterfront access. By combining forces, they also improve prospects for pulling in well-deserved federal transit aid.
While DRPA takes heat now for proposing to hike its bridge tolls after piling up excessive debt, it would be in a better position to justify spending on transit service that represents its core mission.
The two agencies will get little argument from civic leaders long convinced of the advantages of transit links to the river. In fact, the Center City District has pushed for trolley access from the Delaware River to 30th Street Station.
Even when the city's vision for the waterfront focused mostly on Penn's Landing at the foot of Market and Chestnut Streets, the menu of ideas included improving transit. Trolleys linking with Independence Mall were seen as a way to delight tourists as well as defuse traffic jams and cut pollution.
Now, transit is even more important, since the city's vision for transforming the Delaware's banks stretches several miles on either side of Penn's Landing.
That's why the recent plan crafted by the University of Pennsylvania design group, PennPraxis, gives transit a starring role. PennPraxis says Philadelphia needs to go where other cities have gone, noting that "light rail and streetcar systems have played key roles in revitalizing waterfronts" in cities as diverse as Toronto, Portland and Baltimore.
PATCO and SEPTA, with cheerleading by Mayor Nutter, should lead the way.