Broad Street Line Extension

[waltlantz]

sounds cool, havent heard any one pushing for it yet. I doubt SEPTA and its bean counters will be very interested in extention of service what with the economy and their own problems.

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by maf763

Great link. I always thought a surface line running along the median made more sense than a subway.

Now there's an idea, a modern light rail from Broad and Hunting Park right up the middle of the Boulevard

[pman]

Originally Posted by maf763

Great link. I always thought a surface line running along the median made more sense than a subway.

why? it's slower, has lower capacity, and requires a transfer. solibs-interesting about the highway angle. I thought they changed the federal match not too long ago to 80/20, no?I think the way the FTA scores is biases towards current problems (like the boulevard) rather than economic development projects like the waterfront trolley. it takes into account commute time savings, of which there will be very little for that project. that makes a lot of sense, actually, and should theoretically encoruage cities to tackle transportation problems but obviously politican stupidity trumps common sense.

[maf763]

Originally Posted by pman

why? it's slower, has lower capacity, and requires a transfer.

Cost and disruption to current infrastructure. I'd agree a subway would be better in the long run but for years it would be a nightmare.

[Boompa]

There was that whole development along the Boulevard that sunk in the unstable soil and sat vacant for 40 years before they tore it down.

[solibs]

Originally Posted by maf763

Cost and disruption to current infrastructure. I'd agree a subway would be better in the long run but for years it would be a nightmare.

Light rail would be nice but it would take forever to get to Broad & Hunting Park and you'd still have to transfer to the subway to get to Center City. The extension would just jump on the express tracks and head to Walnut-Locust.

Light rail might also bring an increase of pedestrian accidents.

The idea is that they'd dig out the median first, so as not to disrupt traffic on the boulevard, build the subway so people have an alternative, then shut down the express lanes and dig them out.

TO get to the subway stations pedestrians would only have to cross the outside lanes of the Boulevard to get to the station entrances.

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by solibs

Light rail would be nice but it would take forever to get to Broad & Hunting Park and you'd still have to transfer to the subway to get to Center City. The extension would just jump on the express tracks and head to Walnut-Locust.

Light rail might also bring an increase of pedestrian accidents.

The idea is that they'd dig out the median first, so as not to disrupt traffic on the boulevard, build the subway so people have an alternative, then shut down the express lanes and dig them out.

TO get to the subway stations pedestrians would only have to cross the outside lanes of the Boulevard to get to the station entrances.

Whole lot of excuses to do nothing.

[thekish]

Originally Posted by waltlantz

I read once that some planners rolled around the idea of extending the orange line up into the northeast under the Boulevard.

Cost aside, does anyone see that as feasable? Could be useful as the Northeast is a subway deadzone for the most part

However, The Boulevard is different from Broad or Market cause its wide with no real way to walk near it compared to the other two streets. Doesn't seem like a bad idea (although SEPTA has enough trouble keeping its existing infrastructure up to code).

I would build an El up the center of the Blvd. It would be cheaper and it would cut down on traffic. There were also plans to extend the BLS south to the Navy yard. Neither will get done until I am mayor.

When I am running the show I will extend the BSL to the Navy Yard and extend the Schuylkill river trail to the Navy Yard and a loop around the yard. The first harbor at the Navy yard will then be turned into an Inner Harbor in Philly. The current stadium complex that draws 7 million people a year will be the anchor for the inner harbor. We already have parking for about 50,000 at the stadium complex. The building will be built in the style of the existing navy quarters that are already on site and there will be setback from the water to accomodate the walking path. Each building will be about 3-4 stories. The first floor will be bars and reastaurants and the top floors will be either professional or condos.

At the far southend of the yard they should grade the land and have an amphitheater that overlooks a bandshell on the water.