PHILADELPHIA | 2222 Market Street| 282 FT | 20 FLOORS

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

In the recent Transit plan one of the goals is to build the subway stop @20th.

However Mcgrath will know how soon that plan will come to life. Paging Dr.Mcgrath whats the status on that project?

Not even in design. SEPTA has other (frankly, more important) issues to take care of.

We’re not going to see a stop at 20th until we see the city commit to expanding public rail transit.

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Not even in design. SEPTA has other (frankly, more important) issues to take care of.

We’re not going to see a stop at 20th until we see the city commit to expanding public rail transit.

We need a mayor that's pro transit, then maybe our city will go for expansions & improvements for the Subways & rest of the system.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

We need a mayor that's pro transit, then maybe our city will go for expansions & improvements for the Subways & rest of the system.

Gonna need a friendlier Harrisburg too.

One day, maybe they'll realize that Philadelphia would be incredibly successful if the rail worked as a network. Right now there's only one node: City Hall/15th.

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Gonna need a friendlier Harrisburg too.

Such an animal doth not exist.

[Nanyika]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

One day, maybe they'll realize that Philadelphia would be incredibly successful if the rail worked as a network. Right now there's only one node: City Hall/15th.

On a historical note, the rail system was designed with an auxiliary node in Center City at 8th & Market, where the MFL, the Ridge Avenue-Locust Street Subway, and the Camden Bridge Line all came together. Eighth & Market is relatively sleepy now, but it was the commercial center of the city going into the 1960s, and the single busiest intersection in pedestrian traffic.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Nanyika

On a historical note, the rail system was designed with an auxiliary node in Center City at 8th & Market, where the MFL, the Ridge Avenue-Locust Street Subway, and the Camden Bridge Line all came together. Eighth & Market is relatively sleepy now, but it was the commercial center of the city going into the 1960s, and the single busiest intersection in pedestrian traffic.

I would still consider it a node if they hadn’t removed the free transfer (which I suppose was kind of necessary, given that PATCO took over the Bridge Line I. ‘68).

We also can’t fall into the Chicago trap of having a hub-and-spoke system. The L is great but it fails when where you’re going isn’t along your line. You live in Edgewater and want to get to O’Hare? Good luck.

Cities going forward are going to have to sell themselves on livability. Do I need to own a car to live here? Can I get almost anywhere on foot or by train? Is it fast? Is it safe? Can I live near everything I need (groceries, job, leisure, etc).

The BSL and MFL form a good start to what should be a citywide subway system. I’ve been considering hypothetical routings of new lines, and one I keep coming back to is the CSX High Line. If repurposed to a subway line, you could add stops at Girard (the Zoo), Spring Garden (the Art Museum), Market (30th St), Penn Medicine, and then have it take the existing bridge over the Schuylkill. From there it could continue on the existing 25th street viaduct (which would take you near the future Bellweather District), or a better routing in my mind, which would be under Washington Ave.

Replace the 15 with a subway line and you find yourself able to get almost anywhere in Greater Center City within 10 minutes. It would form 3 edges of a ring surrounding Center City. Throw in a Delaware Ave Light Rail and you have what would be, in my mind, a superb system for Philadelphia.

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I would still consider it a node if they hadn’t removed the free transfer (which I suppose was kind of necessary, given that PATCO took over the Bridge Line I. ‘68).

We also can’t fall into the Chicago trap of having a hub-and-spoke system. The L is great but it fails when where you’re going isn’t along your line. You live in Edgewater and want to get to O’Hare? Good luck.

Cities going forward are going to have to sell themselves on livability. Do I need to own a car to live here? Can I get almost anywhere on foot or by train? Is it fast? Is it safe? Can I live near everything I need (groceries, job, leisure, etc).

The BSL and MFL form a good start to what should be a citywide subway system. I’ve been considering hypothetical routings of new lines, and one I keep coming back to is the CSX High Line. If repurposed to a subway line, you could add stops at Girard (the Zoo), Spring Garden (the Art Museum), Market (30th St), Penn Medicine, and then have it take the existing bridge over the Schuylkill. From there it could continue on the existing 25th street viaduct (which would take you near the future Bellweather District), or a better routing in my mind, which would be under Washington Ave.

Replace the 15 with a subway line and you find yourself able to get almost anywhere in Greater Center City within 10 minutes. It would form 3 edges of a ring surrounding Center City. Throw in a Delaware Ave Light Rail and you have what would be, in my mind, a superb system for Philadelphia.

Do you think if maybe we start a petition for Harrisburg or the fed to grant SEPTA money to build new lines and take care of the backlog it would work?

It's really a simple fix the only issue is the funding to finish and start the projects and work.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Do you think if maybe we start a petition for Harrisburg or the fed to grant SEPTA money to build new lines and take care of the backlog it would work?

It's really a simple fix the only issue is the funding to finish and start the projects and work.

Do petitions ever work?

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Do petitions ever work?

It gets the issue on the map and causes the responsible parties to actually do something.

if you ever notice documentaries cause action after the fact.

[VirtualWorker]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Do petitions ever work?

Call or write your rep or senator--one organic conversation is worth hundreds of names on a petition. You'd be surprised how few earnest, non-crackpot, non-campaign contacts they get and how open they are to hearing from you.

[arkitect13]

Originally Posted by VirtualWorker

Call or write your rep or senator--one organic conversation is worth hundreds of names on a petition. You'd be surprised how few earnest, non-crackpot, non-campaign contacts they get and how open they are to hearing from you.

Send it to those in harrisburgh, and be careful who you send too. I have tried sending letters to my state rep, and Pat toomey many times only to get a letter on how there preserving my freedoms from communist progressive agenda's...

Both letters I sent were related to public transit, affordability, and climate change

[VirtualWorker]

Originally Posted by arkitect13

Send it to those in harrisburgh, and be careful who you send too. I have tried sending letters to my state rep, and Pat toomey many times only to get a letter on how there preserving my freedoms from communist progressive agenda's...

Both letters I sent were related to public transit, affordability, and climate change

Yeah, that happens. Give them a call and ask for a meeting with staff in the district office.

[arkitect13]

Originally Posted by VirtualWorker

Yeah, that happens. Give them a call and ask for a meeting with staff in the district office.

Honestly, I wish I could, I just don't have time, I would ultimately bring multiple friends with me who feel passionate about the same issues as I to converse. But also, my reps are GOP and give little thought to issues we feel/care about. But maybe I can do this next summer.

[SEFTA]

Originally Posted by arkitect13

my reps are GOP and give little thought to issues we feel/care about. But maybe I can do this next summer.

GOT THAT RIGHT!

[arkitect13]

Originally Posted by SEFTA

GOT THAT RIGHT!

[skyhigh07]

Originally Posted by arkitect13

Honestly, I wish I could, I just don't have time, I would ultimately bring multiple friends with me who feel passionate about the same issues as I to converse. But also, my reps are GOP and give little thought to issues we feel/care about. But maybe I can do this next summer.

That’s unfortunate. I moved from CA, which is a dumpster fire on top of a dumpster fire. The GOP is virtually extinct there. I went to one community meeting where my city councilman spoke to residents concerned about the homeless situation in downtown LA. He gave us a bunch of mumbo jumbo and nothing got done. Now the situation is worse and I hear there’s a mass exodus of primarily the middle class out of the city and continually out of the state.

I’ve become more moderate over the last years due to a few personal experiences on my life. I’d like to see more of a counter balance where both parties are held accountable but also reach across the isle to actually get things done.

[arkitect13]

Originally Posted by skyhigh07

I’ve become more moderate over the last years due to a few personal experiences on my life. I’d like to see more of a counterbalance where both parties are held accountable but also reach across the isle to actually get things done.

Sadly the bi-partisanship is really done until a new generation of elected officials from younger generations moves in, the main problem, I don't mean to get extremely political here, is the 2 party system, we need at least 6 for a country our size to function properly, and we need everything from a progressive party to a religious party. It would automatically encourage bipartisanship cause no 1 party would ever hold power. Also in regard to the inaction, it also depends if those politicians have the power and will to get it done, as well as also if they've gotten lobbies from companies

[MAC123]

Originally Posted by arkitect13

Sadly the bi-partisanship is really done until a new generation of elected officials from younger generations moves in, the main problem, I don't mean to get extremely political here, is the 2 party system, we need at least 6 for a country our size to function properly, and we need everything from a progressive party to a religious party. It would automatically encourage bipartisanship cause no 1 party would ever hold power. Also in regard to the inaction, it also depends if those politicians have the power and will to get it done, as well as also if they've gotten lobbies from companies

1) I'm was just passing by the forum, why are any of you talking about politics here? This is stupid.
2) No lmao. There's separation of church and state for a reason, anytime any religious group has ever had control of any country, things go very badly.

[badthingshappen]

Originally Posted by MAC123

1) I'm was just passing by the forum, why are any of you talking about politics here? This is stupid.

I get that this forum is primarily concerned with the more...physical and logistical and architectural aspects of development in the city, but I think it's a mistake to try to totally divorce those aspects from the politics that goes into their conception, planning, and realization. Those are important things that should be talked about and have a big effect on the ultimate shape that the projects we are discussing take.

[TonyTone]

Im convinced that's Mac from Always sunny in Philly.