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Ehhhhh... it's really not isolated or "way" far out at all. I agree it's DEFINITELY NOT Las Vegas strip level, but I think you're exaggerating a little here.
It's 20 miles from Center City Philadelphia. It's smack dab in the middle of some densely populated areas - Conshohocken, Phoenixville, Norristown, Main Line (Berwyn, Wayne, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, etc.), Northwest Philadelphia (Manayunk, East Falls, Roxborough, Chestnut Hill, West Mounty Airy, East Mount Airy, etc.), and they are in the process of making King of Prussia more walkable, and more connected. Check out the new "King of Prussia Towne Center" in the Village at Valley Forge. SEPTA will also be building a rail line to KOP, which will provide easier access from Center City.
Not only will the Rail line connect KOP Towne Center/Village at Valley Forge and the KOP Mall to Center City, but it will also have a stop at the Valley Forge Casino, and there are plans to turn 1st Ave in Valley forge into a more walkable corridor once the rail line is complete.
funny, I just learned about that proposed rail extension in another thread. It’s lacking a direct rail connection to Philly itself though IMO. I always thought it was weird given how extensive Philly’s commuter rail is in the suburbs that they never had one for kop. I do know from personal experience that getting to kop from Philly without a car is a pain.
funny, I just learned about that proposed rail extension in another thread. It’s lacking a direct rail connection to Philly itself though IMO. I always thought it was weird given how extensive Philly’s commuter rail is in the suburbs that they never had one for kop. I do know from personal experience that getting to kop from Philly without a car is a pain.
Yes, the rail line will be a great addition, and will help to further connect KOP to Center City, and will also help to build KOP into a more urban and walkable environment.
There are no rail lines really to KOP right now because KOP didn't start becoming a thing until the 60s. SEPTA was formed in 1965 out of the remnants of the Pennsylvania Railroad, and the Reading Railroad... therefore, the majority of these regional rail lines were already in place. Since then, SEPTA definitely hasn't had the appropriate funding to rapidly expand. Until 2013, it's annual funding was $300M. It was increased in 2013 to $600M.... that's still pretty underfunded still to this day... for instance, MBTA in Boston - which is a similar sized system to SEPTA - has annual funding of $1B.
As of right now, KOP Towne Center to the mall is not really walkable, no. KOP Towne Center is being built just on the other side of I-76 from the mall. You COULD walk there, just along N Gulph RD, but it's not urban. This takes you under I-76. It's not walkable now, but it would be very easy to build up N Gulph Rd into a walkable, urban environment after a transit line is built to KOP. The more difficult task would be connecting the KOP Towne Center/Village at Valley Forge with 1st Avenue...
Think of how Tyson's Corner in Virginia, outside of DC is transforming now... I could see a similar thing happening to KOP.
I would generally agree with all this, but, to me, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Honolulu and Mexico City don't really "count" as traditional urban shopping hubs.
Beverly Hills is an older suburb, Vegas is a highway strip, Honolulu is a neighborhood tourist corridor, and Mexico City is a suburban commercial street. In terms of shopping typology, they're a little closer to suburban shopping mall-type experiences than, say, Manhattan. You're gonna drive to the shopping, it tends to be in mall-type layouts, etc.
Beverly Hills is not a suburb but a city within the city of Los Angeles. It to me is one of the best shopping districts in the country. And why wouldn't downtown Beverly Hills count as a traditional urban shopping hub. It has no malls. Its shopping area is all along the street. Its also not all Rodeo Drive. Wilshire Blvd has Neiman Marcus, Barney's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Canali, Escada, St. John and many others. Beverly Drive has Theory, All Saints, Crate And Barel, Pottery Barn, Club Monaco, AG Jeans and many more.
Also it's not the Golden Triangle but the Platinum Triangle.
Beverly Hills is not a suburb but a city within the city of Los Angeles. It to me is one of the best shopping districts in the country. And why wouldn't downtown Beverly Hills count as a traditional urban shopping hub. It has no malls. Its shopping area is all along the street. Its also not all Rodeo Drive. Wilshire Blvd has Neiman Marcus, Barney's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Canali, Escada, St. John and many others. Beverly Drive has Theory, All Saints, Crate And Barel, Pottery Barn, Club Monaco, AG Jeans and many more.
Also it's not the Golden Triangle but the Platinum Triangle.
Yeah, I agree... it definitely counts. Beverly Hills is #2 only after Midtown/Upper East Side Manhattan.
Also it's not the Golden Triangle but the Platinum Triangle.
Really when did that change happen? When I was living in Beverly Hills everyone called that area the Golden Triangle...but then that was over 15 years ago and I havent kept up with local nomenclature.
Really when did that change happen? When I was living in Beverly Hills everyone called that area the Golden Triangle...but then that was over 15 years ago and I havent kept up with local nomenclature.
Beverly Hills is not a suburb but a city within the city of Los Angeles.
BH is a suburb, obviously. You just said it was a separate city, which is the definition of a suburb.
The point is it isn't the core, or anywhere close to the core. It's more like a Greenwich, CT or Great Neck, NY than a Fifth or Madison Ave. Upscale suburban retail.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pwright1
It to me is one of the best shopping districts in the country. And why wouldn't downtown Beverly Hills count as a traditional urban shopping hub. It has no malls.
This isn't true. The very core of BH is a shopping mall, called the Rodeo Collection. It's outdoor, but it's a mall.
Agreed it's one of the best upscale shopping districts in the U.S., but, to me, wouldn't count for the purposes of this thread because not the core shopping district.
And just because there aren't traditional malls doesn't mean it's a downtown core. One has nothing to do with the other. I would say the vast majority of suburban downtowns don't have malls.
And Beverly Hills, functionally, operates like suburban downtowns. You drive there. Parking is usually free the first few hours, or free with validation. The department stores all have adjacent parking lots, and the real main retail entrances face the parking, not the street.
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