Core Philadelphia corridors that need improvement (Washington, Franklin Park: fit in, houses, neighborhoods)

[nimshady123]

Originally Posted by kyb01

What you are pretty much describing is the, sadly killed, Schuylkill Valley Metro light rail which was supposed to run from CC to KoP.

The only thing that comes up when I search this is to extend the Norristown line to Reading, which should happen btw. Any reason why this got killed or when?

[gwillyfromphilly]

Originally Posted by nimshady123

The only thing that comes up when I search this is to extend the Norristown line to Reading, which should happen btw. Any reason why this got killed or when?

Lack of proper funding and very incompetent state politicians would be at the top of the list for me. It's quite embarrassing that the 2nd largest city in the Philly CSA doesn't even have passenger rail service. You don't really see these type of things in places like NYC and Chicagoland.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by nimshady123

The only thing that comes up when I search this is to extend the Norristown line to Reading, which should happen btw. Any reason why this got killed or when?

Hmmm... times goes so quickly..... It was at least a decade ago. Maybe it was supposed to go to Reading too. Reason they killed it? Money. The price tag was at least $1 billion. Or bad timing with the economic crash in 2008. Lack of support(?) It was supposed to use, in part, the unused/abandoned, rail bed that runs parallel to Callowhill St. Pretty much the area you wrote about.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by kyb01

Dream away. Now, get busy and create the political will among your age peers to achieve some of this.

One note. Park Towne Place is on the National Registry of Historic Places so some exterior changes are not possible without extensive review

Maybe one day I will become more active in the political scene, or at least the development scene.

And wrt Park Towne, I meant that open space in front of it. A museum as you know was originally supposed to occupy the land, but now its just grass and trees. That is where I suggested the promenade.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Maybe one day I will become more active in the political scene, or at least the development scene.

And wrt Park Towne, I meant that open space in front of it. A museum as you know was originally supposed to occupy the land, but now its just grass and trees. That is where I suggested the promenade.

Yes, the land across from PTP, se corner at 22nd St. was the Calder Museum spot. There was some plan to put a kid's park there too. Dunno what happened to that.

[kyb01]

One thing that might be affecting any other enhancements on the pkwy is the city does not have a direct connection to the Annenberg Foundation now.

[thedirtypirate]

I think the corridors outside the core should be the focus of the city. I was up on cottman the other day thinking about how much could be done to improve the basic streetscape. The same could be said for closer in Avenues like Girard, ridge, Germantown, etc.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by thedirtypirate

I think the corridors outside the core should be the focus of the city. I was up on cottman the other day thinking about how much could be done to improve the basic streetscape. The same could be said for closer in Avenues like Girard, ridge, Germantown, etc.

This is a good point, especially when talking about the Ben Franklin Parkway. Although I still would prioritize other closer-in corridors that are a mess like South Broad. It's a disgrace and it's such a prominent street.

[chessimprov]

Some people could argue that BF Parkway is fine the way it is, and that funds should be ciphoned to somehow be appropriated for quality use for education instead.

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by chessimprov

Some people could argue that BF Parkway is fine the way it is, and that funds should be ciphoned to somehow be appropriated for quality use for education instead.

Except that funding for the two are not coming from the same bucket. And it's more of a policy and planning issue than anything. In other words, better planning shouldn't cut the budget in our schools.

And some people would argue that the parkway is fine the way it is. Some of those same people argue that street sweeping and parking in the middle of South Broad is fine the way it is. It's one of the major issues we have as a city.