Clinton rally in North Philly could snarl morning traffic

The last Philadelphia event connected with the Democratic National Convention will take the party's nominee to Temple University on Friday.

But transportation officials aren't expecting Hillary Clinton's noon post-nomination rally to create much disruption.

The Broad Street Line and Regional Rail will run as usual Friday through the Temple University stop, SEPTA officials said. City officials, too, said they expected minimal traffic delays.

However, Temple officials said Thursday that commuters and those attending the rally could expect delays and tangled traffic.

The hour-long rally was originally scheduled to be held at Independence Mall, but predictions of rain prompted a move to Temple's McGonigle Hall.

University officials said entry to the event would begin at 10 a.m. Parking will be banned on the 1800 and 1900 blocks of North 15th Street, the 1800 block of North Broad Street, and the 1400 block of West Montgomery Avenue, they said.

As the convention drew to a close Thursday, SEPTA officials said traffic and transit delays went largely as expected.

"It was within what we planned for," said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.

The authority did not have detailed ridership numbers Thursday, but it said convention-goers appeared to favor the subway and private shuttle buses as anticipated.

SEPTA detoured dozens of buses this week, and on Monday and Tuesday, protests blocked the subway's AT&T Station. That level of disruption did not repeat Wednesday and Thursday.

SEPTA's Regional Rail has been severely hobbled by the loss of a third of its cars due to a faulty weld, but ridership was level this week, indicating that people attending convention events were not using trains to travel to and from the city and neighboring counties, Busch said.

PATCO put extra trains into service Thursday morning to get people to a concert on Camden's waterfront, but it reported light ridership.

Meanwhile, PennDot, which had shut down I-95 lanes to help police enforce a ban on heavy vehicles, expected to remove 200 traffic-control signs and dozens of traffic cones overnight, spokesman Eugene Blaum said, with the expectation of returning traffic to normal by midday Friday.

Friday will be among the year's busiest travel days at Philadelphia International Airport, as delegates and visitors head home. The airlines, Philadelphia airport, and the Transportation Security Administration will have extra staff on hand to answer questions, handle security screening, and get travelers to their gates.

The TSA has urged airline passengers to arrive at least two hours before domestic flights and three hours ahead of international flights and allow extra time for traffic, parking, rental-car returns, and airline check-in.

jlaughlin@phillynews.com

215-854-4587@jasmlaughlin

Staff writer Linda Loyd contributed to this article.