Official Census results show Philly's population now over 1.6 million (Philadelphia: transplants, 2015)

[AshbyQuin]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

Would it be rude to attempt to derail a thread via race-baiting, especially when Ashby never mentioned the declining white population in MontCo? The answer is: yes.

Had them on my ignore list for a reason

[KaM n.p.]

Originally Posted by AshbyQuin

You wrote at least 2 paragraphs of howgwash, and have done the same to 4 other users comments... but we're the 'emotional' ones, right?

Yeah. I feel like he was the one being sensitive that's why I didn't want to respond to the mention of "almost like cheating". I never said, "they are cheating", which is not a rule unless the govt is adding aliens. It was no need to keep mentioning cheating over and over. It would've been an unnecessary back and forth. All I meant was that it feels like Philly had a more traditional growth rate than PHX considering the city's homeless encampments, opioids, and homicidal problems over annexing. Speaking of homicide we were on a downward trend from 2013-2016 with homicide. Phoenix annexed land, which of course, all cities have done so in the past, and it's not cheating. I am satisfied that we're catching them. But, I knew PHX couldn't be attracting that many people over other larger cities. It has the space and more affordable, but so is Fort Worth, and Austin. Actually, Austin passed up Jacksonville.

[AshbyQuin]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

Right, that is very exciting. Are you very familiar with Norristown? I hope that city sees a comeback. It is so well geographically positioned in our metro, that it's hard for me to imagine it won't one day become Conshohocken 2.0.

Not as familiar with Norristown as I am with Cheltenham (where I currently live). It gets a bad rep, but I've had decent experiences with the city. Don't want to let out too much info and be a doxxing target, but one thing I did immediately notice having had an internship in an elementary school there was it's large Mexican population. Being from Camden and Philly, I'm used to seeing Puerto Ricans and Dominicans, so it was pretty different in a good way.

[MPK21]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I wonder what the go-to hater comment will be when Philadelphia loses its title of "most impoverished big city". I could see Houston (or even Dallas) overtaking that title in the coming years.

But yea, I don't know what the deal is with these "new" users. Either stick with your first account, or find a new hobby. I laugh that people actually go through the process of registering a new account just to spread negative garbage... Definitely clouds what should be a fun thread.

When Philly does lose its title of ''most impoverished big city'' the population growth will be even larger.

This is so bizarre because all that was said was if Philly could get its homicide and poverty issue addressed, it will go at an even faster rate....what's with this spreading hate stuff? Please...

[MPK21]

Originally Posted by AshbyQuin

You wrote at least 2 paragraphs of howgwash, and have done the same to 4 other users comments... but we're the 'emotional' ones, right?

and the at least 2 paragraphs of hogwash are....? Interesting that you point out me being emotional yet can't point out the paragraphs you call ''hogwash''. Hmm

[KaM n.p.]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I bolded the robust transit part. Now is the time for leadership to really focus on this. A lot other cities have legitimate plans in place to expand their transit networks (many have shovels in the ground). Not all are great plans, but why is Philadelphia lagging here? We already have a solid network, but need more. Does a lot of this fall on the state and their lack of funding for SEPTA projects?

I always used to say Septa should've built more subway lines into the Northeast, and Northwest. Actually, the BSL was supposed to also spur at Erie- Hunting Park to extend into the Near and Far Northeast. Obviously, that plan was terminated. I think if they had also built two subways under Germantown and the rest of Ridge that would've been beneficial for those areas. And, less waiting on long bus rides, and crowded buses. The sub and the El should've extended further than Fem Rock, and FTC.

People get tired waiting on either crowded buses, or unreliable schedules because the buses are late as usual. I'm looking forward to that new Silver line regional rail plan. I used to ride the airport line everyday to get to my old job, and hated the fact that I had to pay suburban zone prices when I'm a city resident that's commuting the city limits. The current system is definitely horrible. Transpasses were allowed on the airport line, but I believe they were in the process of making it zone 1 only.
It caters to suburbia!

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I bolded the robust transit part. Now is the time for leadership to really focus on this. A lot other cities have legitimate plans in place to expand their transit networks (many have shovels in the ground). Not all are great plans, but why is Philadelphia lagging here? We already have a solid network, but need more. Does a lot of this fall on the state and their lack of funding for SEPTA projects?

The attitude towards SEPTA in much of the rest of the state is, "Let Philadelphia pay for it." When the state legislature was trying to come up with another source for permanent funding for mass transit statewide after the Supreme Court threw out its original source (a tax on utilities) in the 1990s, the grumbling in the T was that the legislature was going to toll I-80 users to pay for SEPTA. (The Federal law that allowed tolls on up to four highways built with Interstate Highway Act money forbade use of the toll revenue on anything other than the tolled road, but our solons in Harrisburg kept trying to rejigger the numbers to make it look like that was what they were doing when they weren't.

We could dust off the 1913 rapid transit expansion plan and attempt to build some of the lines on it that never got built, I guess.

KaM n.p.: The reason we don't have a subway running up Roosevelt Boulevard was because of a decision Mayor Frank Rizzo made. The city had applied to the Feds for money for both it and the Center City Commuter Tunnel; outgoing Transportation Secretary William Coleman (a Black Republican from Philadelphia) called his old friend Rizzo on Coleman's last day on the job to tell Rizzo that he could approve only one. Rizzo told him to okay the Commuter Tunnel, saying that "we can get to the subway in a later phase."

That "later phase" never came to pass.

[MPK21]

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

Right, that is very exciting. Are you very familiar with Norristown? I hope that city sees a comeback. It is so well geographically positioned in our metro, that it's hard for me to imagine it won't one day become Conshohocken 2.0.

It's the effect of black flight out of Philadelphia, the largest decline in the city's black population on record. The POC diversity is being driven by hispanic and asian population growth. Philly's smallest decline in white population since the 1940s. That is very exciting. With Philly being geographically positioned between DC and NYC, it's hard for me to imagine it won't one day become at least a DC 2.0.

[MPK21]

Originally Posted by KaM n.p.

Yeah. I feel like he was the one being sensitive that's why I didn't want to respond to the mention of "almost like cheating". I never said, "they are cheating", which is not a rule unless the govt is adding aliens. It was no need to keep mentioning cheating over and over. It would've been an unnecessary back and forth. All I meant was that it feels like Philly had a more traditional growth rate than PHX considering the city's homeless encampments, opioids, and homicidal problems over annexing. Speaking of homicide we were on a downward trend from 2013-2016 with homicide. Phoenix annexed land, which of course, all cities have done so in the past, and it's not cheating. I am satisfied that we're catching them. But, I knew PHX couldn't be attracting that many people over other larger cities. It has the space and more affordable, but so is Fort Worth, and Austin. Actually, Austin passed up Jacksonville.

Oddly, you mentioned the homicide issue first, yet that wasn't an issue until I mentioned it, maybe cuz I added the highest big city poverty rate? Also known as facts. Sensitive? Please. Nice backpedaling though...

Maybe it's because I pointed out that Philly among many legacy cities annexed cities, towns, and land in the 19th century that refuted the theory that PHX growth should be discounted due to the fact that it did the same thing but way after Philly did.

Face it, Phoenix is has a higher population than Philly. Instead of defending your actual statements, you bow-out with post-statements mish-mash feelings-backpedaling to a discussion of metro populations.

Why mention the decline in homicides that ended 5 years ago...then PHX homeless problem? wtf?

This is supposed to be a discussion forum but that can't happen when people discuss feelings vs. facts.

[KaM n.p.]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

KaM n.p.: The reason we don't have a subway running up Roosevelt Boulevard was because of a decision Mayor Frank Rizzo made. The city had applied to the Feds for money for both it and the Center City Commuter Tunnel; outgoing Transportation Secretary William Coleman (a Black Republican from Philadelphia) called his old friend Rizzo on Coleman's last day on the job to tell Rizzo that he could approve only one. Rizzo told him to okay the Commuter Tunnel, saying that "we can get to the subway in a later phase."

That "later phase" never came to pass.

That's such a shame! Very interesting! I'm a younger millennial so I'm unaware of some passed city decisions. You learn something new everyday. So, which "commuter tunnel"(tunnels) are we speaking of? I wonder would he had made that same decision if the city's population never declined back in the 60s, and 70s? It would be a higher priority with a population of 2 million with advanced modes of transit one would think.