Quote:
Originally Posted by Parkway
All that being said I still think that the Boulevard subway or a subway up 29th to Manayunk via the parkway would both have a higher ridership per dollar return than anything on the water front.
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I think a great way to get a subway/light rail service to Manayunk could be done in conjunction with a Schuylkill Valley rail service from Reading to 30th St lower level. With R6 regional rail trains rerouted onto the Manayunk rail bridge and operating via Cynwyd, that would allow the remaining portion of the R6 Reading line to be used by a subway or light rail service to Center City. The new service would stop at Ivy Ridge, Manayunk, Wissahickon, East Falls and a relocated Allegheny station near 29th St. Then it could run down 29th St and Pennsylvania Avenue into Center City.
Once in Center City, the line would turn south on 18th St, then east on the Parkway and Arch. It would terminate in a new station on Arch between Broad and 15th, which would allow for transfers between the new line and the Broad St, Market/Frankford, Subway/Surface and Regional Rail lines. The new line would serve Manayunk, Fairmount Park, the Art Museum, the Franklin Institute, the Planetarium and other Center City attractions, so I think it would get very good ridership.
An alternate routing that I considered would be to run the new service from Pennsylvania Avenue across the now-abandoned Reading city branch, then turn south into the existing Broad/Ridge line. This would require digging into an existing subway tunnel and require the elimination of Broad/Ridge spur trains, but it would serve the Gallery, offer a connection to the El and PATCO and would be a short walk from Independence Hall.