Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I dunno; except for the "wealthier, better-educated populace" part, you could be talking about Philadelphia in that first paragraph, even after taking into account the crazy tight housing market here right now.
Something also I think I might want to point out: with the possible exception of DC, and I don't know how long that will last, those "superstar" cities full of well-off, well-educated people are by and large unaffordable for the average Joe and Jane, and every city needs average Joes and Janes to do the (as we should all be aware of by now) essential work that makes everyone's lives function. One of my worries about Philadelphia is that, in our pursuit of top-tier status, we too will become impossible to live in unless one is very rich or very poor (and thus eligible for subsidies of various kinds). Here, we talk about the "middle neighborhoods", the need to provide housing for the "missing middle", and promoting homeownership up and down the socioeconomic spectrum — Philadelphia has historically had one of the nation's highest rates of homeownership, approaching 70 percent as recently as a decade ago.
That rate has been declining steadily since then, and I think I can see the day when this city too becomes majority-renter as many of those superstar cities are.That high homeownership rate tends to make Philadelphia a little less dynamic than the superstar cities simply because so many of its residents are here for the long haul, but I think it this also helps keep the city relatively affordable.
And don't forget that this region is also a center for biomedical research and has several major pharmaceutical manufacturers based here or nearby (e.g., Middlesex County, NJ). It ranks third in the category behind Boston and New York, but it is a major player.
Mass transit just about everywhere is in a perilous condition. SEPTA may be better run than the MBTA or WMATA, but right now, that's not saying much, and it too faces a huge budget hole to plug too.
Not sure you'd need to have Massport "buy out" the MBTA; it would probably just take legislation.
But: If I'm not mistaken, the MBTA is an agency of the state government (under the Executive Office of Transportation and Construction, iow, the state Transportation Department) while Massport is an independent public authority. There could be some bureaucratic hurdles to clear here.
Here in Philadelphia, the state Transportation Secretary, Leslie Richards, gave up her job in Harrisburg in order to run SEPTA, which is also an independent public authority but has five state-appointed members on its 15-member board, added when it finally got dedicated funding from state taxes.
Philly seems to run SEPTA pretty well. I just rose rhe Mta, absolute disaster. The T was okay, but im worried it too will fall into an abyss of delays, mechanical issues and safety concerns again. DCs is doing great iirc.
MSEL there’s no doubt in my mind Philly grows more and more transformationally than Boston over the next 10/15 year. I think a lot of people can see that coming. But these riots may hurt it. Every city is being judged very meticulously now.
MSEL there’s no doubt in my mind Philly grows more and more transformationally than Boston over the next 10/15 year. I think a lot of people can see that coming. But these riots may hurt it. Every city is being judged very meticulously now.
Riots obviously don't help any place. But our country--and world, quite frankly--is at one of the most socially and politically tense and tumultuous points in decades. It's much more understandable in that context.
That doesn't allay concern much, but it obviously didn't come out of nowhere. And no city is immune to the potential for such an outcome.
Philly seems to run SEPTA pretty well. I just rose rhe Mta, absolute disaster. The T was okay, but im worried it too will fall into an abyss of delays, mechanical issues and safety concerns again. DCs is doing great iirc.
I beg to differ when it comes to rating our mass transit systems. It seems like the MBTA does a better job when it comes to coverage of commuter rail to places such as Providence, Worcester, Lowell, Brockton, and Lawrence. Here, in Philly, you can't take the commuter train to Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Reading, Lancaster (although there's Amtrak service), and West Chester.
It also seems like Boston has a better subway system and does a better job covering the entire city of Boston than the two line system we have here in Philly. I'm also jealous that the MBTA is expanding it's Green Line to Union Square in Somerville and all the way to Medford. In Philly, we tried to extend the subway to the Navy Yard and that hasn't even got off yet.
Bottom line, both systems are older systems, but Boston is a better system coming from a Philadelphian!
I beg to differ when it comes to rating our mass transit systems. It seems like the MBTA does a better job when it comes to coverage of commuter rail to places such as Providence, Worcester, Lowell, Brockton, and Lawrence. Here, in Philly, you can't take the commuter train to Allentown, Bethlehem, Easton, Reading, Lancaster (although there's Amtrak service), and West Chester.
It also seems like Boston has a better subway system and does a better job covering the entire city of Boston than the two line system we have here in Philly. I'm also jealous that the MBTA is expanding it's Green Line to Union Square in Somerville and all the way to Medford. In Philly, we tried to extend the subway to the Navy Yard and that hasn't even got off yet.
Bottom line, both systems are older systems, but Boston is a better system coming from a Philadelphian!
If you factor in PATCO coverage is similar no?
Perhaps the Surface-Subway is more tram like above ground that the T which only the E like in actually street running in shared lanes.
SEPTA actually has more Commuter Rail lines than Boston and covers more miles and passengers (pre covid).
It has legacy transit from both the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads.
Although Boston and Philadelphia's transit systems are virtually identical and developed around the same time.
I believe overall too, SEPTA's system is slightly above Boston's in ridership as well.
SEPTA, WMATA, BART & MBTA are all virtually the same in ridership. With WMATA having the highest total overall in high speed rail, but it has no commuter rail, so it levels out on the other modes.
SEPTA has the largest trolley (light rail) network in the nation. Few people know this. The light rail extends deep into the suburbs in Delaware County.
And it has the nations only hybrid Light Rail/High Speed line. The Norristown Line. (Patco is also similar but a different agency that serves New Jersey).
While the SEPTA is still behind, there is a NJ side run by NJDOT (1 subway, 1 light rail, 1 Commuter Rail, Busses) that brings Philly up to ~325 million. Of course it’s a ~25% bigger metro as well
By quantity
1. NYC
2. Philadelphia
3. Boston
4. DC
By quality/Otp
1. DC
2. Boston (3 months ago I would have put below philly)
3. Philadelphia
4. New York
Is there a correlation? Why is the DC system so good, and continues to be the best in the Northeast. All while expanding dramatically. Do they allocate funds better?
By quantity
1. NYC
2. Philadelphia
3. Boston
4. DC
By quality/Otp
1. DC
2. Boston (3 months ago I would have put below philly)
3. Philadelphia
4. New York
Is there a correlation? Why is the DC system so good, and continues to be the best in the Northeast. All while expanding dramatically. Do they allocate funds better?
DC has long benefited from very direct access to and robust federal funding.
I think the fact that there's far less municipal fragmentation in the DC area (i.e., county-level government is the most local form) and the fact that Metro only has to contend with its rail and bus systems (as opposed to commuter rail in the other three regions, and trolley systems in two of them as well) also streamlines operations/budgeting greatly.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
