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Originally Posted by Kidphilly
1 - ensure that 31st street underground held for potential future HR expansion to link with the Pennsy cut and the 23rd street viaduct - a new loop routs of sorts that will meet with the BSL at the NY.
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TBH I think that a reserved underground easement along 31st works better as a new Schuylkill Expressway easement -- 30th Street is an all-stops facility and there is plenty of platform space available (10 lower level, 6 upper level) for any combination of services you can foresee.
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2 - Kill the Arch street and Paines park pedestrian bridges and make the Race street bridge available for two way auto traffic as well. Also have Race connect to Powelton with two way auto traffic as the east/west connector in the development. Improvements to connections at SG and JFK remove the need for two additional pedestrian connections.
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I don't like this idea, for several reasons:
- The Paine's Park bridge offers a de novo pedestrian connection and a new access route from the station to the Art Museum
- A vehicular Race Street bridge would overwhelm the Logan Square neighborhood with accessing traffic
- This fundamentally works against the idea of maximizing connections across the Schuylkill
I am of the opinion that, if one of the pedestrian crossings is to be axed, the Arch and Race street spans should be merged into a new crossing, probably at Cherry.
While I agree a new vehicular crossing isn't necessarily a bad idea, I don't think the current layout offers a good spot for it. The one place where I can see it as a long-term possibility is linking Vine and Powelton, but even then that would require an entirely new Schuylkill-VSE interchange.
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3. Reduce the footprint of the new bus terminal, while I love the idea of a true intermodal station and moving Greyhound here etc. (to me ensure they do) I think it wastes a prime development parcel. Either reduce the presence and maintain where it is (smaller bus shed allowing for a larger building and lobby on the present plan) with a smaller shed that connects with the sky bridge at the Cira center with bus ticketing in the New North concourse with Septa in 30th or even more out of the box move the bus boarding below 30th street station and use two or so of the boarding tracks under the complex; maybe toward the new underground MFL/Subway Surface tunnel.
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Also difficult to defend -- the bus terminal lies partly over tracks and partly over the employee parking area, which makes column placements difficult. One solution could be to relocate employee parking to the Cira Centre garage, which then frees that sub-basement up for loading. If this route were to be followed, however, then the bus terminal would have to be integrated into the structure's surface level, which would be an Interesting Negotiation with the developers. One potential solution would be to put the terminal in the Cira Centre garage as well (now that would
definitely justify adding more floors to it), like they did in DC Union Station ... but, to do that, you'd need to have adequate bus clearance on at least one garage level.
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4. While I really like the green space I believe a lot has to be pre thought for flexibility and utility. This has the chance to be widely unused nights and weekends. Activate the space especially the Powelton Green for mixed use. Potentially an event space with a small stage as it would be great gathering spot for college or non college oriented festivals. Have some active space - dedicated food truck slots for both lunches for workers and weekend/night events. Maybe a seasonal beer garden. And also potentially fields (ball fields, soccer or the like and a Kids innovation zone/playground. Maybe deeded to Fairmont park with innovative play areas say like a replica Stature of Liberty Torch (first presented in Fairmont park) with a climbing lookout portion in the torch. Maybe other innovations with a local flair or even some homage to rail and the rail yard. Maybe even some old rail cars which can be used for functions etc.
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I discovered that the green space is a combination of active and passive spaces. Active spaces -- Drexel Park and the Schuylkill Bluffs -- are well-thought-out; passive ones, like the one behind the Innovation Neighborhood, are much earlier in the design phase and essentially meant to be beautification measures.
The sense I got is that the planners would prefer to implement CC 2.0, but that they are severely constrained from doing so by Powelton Yard's track placement. There were also statements to the effect that mucking with the track placement to provide some column space would reduce available storage space; the only long-term solution allowing for redevelopment would be to find someplace to add storage space upline (though the PRR certainly left them with a surfeit of options).
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Also on the green space not sure I am on board with the lower river level. Think wont be well used and will have lots of road noise from 76. Especially if cost is an issue to me this goes as seems pricey.
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I think it's perhaps best experimented before they go full-bore with it. Visual and noise shields are both important; you can certainly use a few barges to make a temporary green space to see if the idea works.
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5. Add a auto connection to West River drive - believe there is space just before it crosses the river; this could double as an at grade pedestrian/bike connection to the east river trail linking the two sides. Improve connections with the trail on the east side at JFK and SG with new ramps (probably more a new development for the 23rd street parcel but is key. Also improve SG pedestrian connections though the at grade West river could potentially do a better job there.
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That's a good one, and one I should've brought up myself. Having West River end on Spring Garden would open up its bridge as a greenway extension 24/7. The downsides are, however, (a) that its intersection would be right next to the Schuylkill's onramps, and (b) you would definitely need to widen and replace the existing Spring Garden Bridge. Though, honestly, you kind of need to do that as it is anyway.
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6. Other thoughts - why not just extend JFK into the powelton side as a road not pedestrian way - seems to miss this opportunity - to many pedestrian only connections IMHO while not a car lover access will be key and why I also believe the West River connection and Race auto connections are key as well. Race as true East/West connector to Logan Sq and Powelton.
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I think the consensus view is that the easement between Caneris Hall and University Crossings is too narrow for a street.
I am also i agreement with staff that the pedestrian connections are primary, and car connections are secondary. As it stands, the biggest traffic problem is the insane congestion at Schuylkill and Market: rush-hour queues are known to back up half an hour or more through that intersection, and the plans on the table don't really have any ideas how to solve that conundrum. But a large part of that problem is the Schuylkill's utterly inadequate throughput, and (unlike in ... err ... Dallas) we don't really have any viable idea for solving that issue.
The cluster known as the Big Dig also took away some of our taste for underground expressways, although those projects are becoming increasingly normative over in Europe.
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