PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread

[skyhigh07]

Anyone know what’s going into the old Children’s Place/Portabella space at 16th/Chestnut? Looks like they have a “tenant obtained” sign up and they’re doing some significant remodeling inside.

[JPatrick]

Tony V, Love the pictures. They provide a really unique and great perspective of these buildings. Thank you for posting.

[DeltaNerd]

Interesting only two Acelas? I thought there was a third one delivered to Philly


Great shots Tony, always look forward to them

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by DeltaNerd

Interesting only two Acelas? I thought there was a third one delivered to Philly


Great shots Tony, always look forward to them

Can confirm that trainset 3 is in Philly. One may have been out for testing.

Great shots Tony. Keep them coming.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by New2Fishtown

Are these ridership numbers relative to pre-pandemic just raw counts of people, or do they factor in reduced service? because it's easy for service to feel crowded and well-used when it's running far less frequently as most modes still seem to be doing. RR is especially noticeable given how relatively infrequent headways already were on most lines, but even on the MFL, the fact that we're still maxing out at every 6 min is quite a difference from the every 4 minutes pre-covid (that's 10 trains per hour down from 15 per hour, so essentially a 33% reduction in service during rush hour).

This is directly from SEPTA for June 2022 (vs 2019)

Bus; 66%
RR: 49%
Trolley/Subway: 48%

RR is the only mode that increased from May to June- likely due to minimal impact from loss of student riders.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Last I heard, subway ridership was about 90% of what it was pre-covid, and RR was about 55%. I'd say it's probably gotten a bit more crowded lately as most rush hour trains are indeed filling, but it's still lagging behind the other modes.

Subway ridership is definitely down and on the broad street line its extremely noticeable. There are tons of seats available on rush hour express trains southbound- has been that way since 2020 although its obviously not as bad now as it was in the first year of the pandemic when schools were remote. I'm not on the El as much, but when I have been its never close to packed like it was before COVID.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by cardeza

Subway ridership is definitely down and on the broad street line its extremely noticeable. There are tons of seats available on rush hour express trains southbound- has been that way since 2020 although its obviously not as bad now as it was in the first year of the pandemic when schools were remote. I'm not on the El as much, but when I have been its never close to packed like it was before COVID.

I take the El during rush hour and it’s consistently packed. Not sure where I heard 90% but I’m also convinced that that number is a lowball. At least 40% of our ridership right now is evading fares.

[skyhigh07]

The old Children’s Place/Portabella space at 16th/Chestnut is currently being remodeled to be a J Crew Factory store.

[El Duderino]

Tony, all of these drone shots you're getting are awesome.

[PHLtoNYC]

More info...

Spring Garden’s makeover project has raised enough money to begin a trail-to-trail redesign

https://www.inquirer.com/transportat...-20220804.html

A group of people who have advocated for more than a decade to turn Philadelphia’s Spring Garden Street into a 2.1-mile “green boulevard” gathered Thursday to celebrate having pieced together $31 million to begin the environmental and traffic safety project.

When it’s finished, they say, the “Spring Garden Street Connector” will link popular trails on the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers and feature parking-protected bicycle lanes, trees, easier access to SEPTA rail stations and bus stops, a new stormwater management system, and safety improvements at 22 intersections to make the corridor more walkable.

Design of the project could take up to two years, said Mike Carroll, the city deputy managing director in charge of the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability. In addition to protected bike lanes, Spring Garden Street will get updated traffic signals and pedestrian bump-outs at intersections, an example of a complete street, safe for drivers and all other users.

Unlike the contentious Washington Avenue repaving and safety project, the Spring Garden project does not include a so-called road diet, or reduction in the number of lanes, Carroll said.

[Redddog]

Stunning, Tone.

[iheartphilly]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

More info...

Spring Garden’s makeover project has raised enough money to begin a trail-to-trail redesign

https://www.inquirer.com/transportat...-20220804.html

A group of people who have advocated for more than a decade to turn Philadelphia’s Spring Garden Street into a 2.1-mile “green boulevard” gathered Thursday to celebrate having pieced together $31 million to begin the environmental and traffic safety project.

When it’s finished, they say, the “Spring Garden Street Connector” will link popular trails on the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers and feature parking-protected bicycle lanes, trees, easier access to SEPTA rail stations and bus stops, a new stormwater management system, and safety improvements at 22 intersections to make the corridor more walkable.

Design of the project could take up to two years, said Mike Carroll, the city deputy managing director in charge of the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability. In addition to protected bike lanes, Spring Garden Street will get updated traffic signals and pedestrian bump-outs at intersections, an example of a complete street, safe for drivers and all other users.

Unlike the contentious Washington Avenue repaving and safety project, the Spring Garden project does not include a so-called road diet, or reduction in the number of lanes, Carroll said.

This is awesome! But, why does things like this need up to 2 years to design? And then there's the actually process of implementing the design which could take another year or more. It boggles my mind why it can't be done quicker.

[Mayormccheese]

Originally Posted by iheartphilly

This is awesome! But, why does things like this need up to 2 years to design? And then there's the actually process of implementing the design which could take another year or more. It boggles my mind why it can't be done quicker.

Need to give all players ample time to line up and siphon off this money into their pockets.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I take the El during rush hour and it’s consistently packed. Not sure where I heard 90% but I’m also convinced that that number is a lowball. At least 40% of our ridership right now is evading fares.

That’s WILD. Is that normal? I would think those turnstyles that SEPTA was testing awhile back would help there.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

That’s WILD. Is that normal? I would think those turnstyles that SEPTA was testing awhile back would help there.

No, it's not. SEPTA's turnstiles are horrible and the ones that were being demoed in the basement of 1234 a month ago were made by the same manufacturer.

An interesting idea that has been floating around lately is putting out an RFP for all of the different turnstile manufacturers and having them install at Allegheny, City Hall, and the other worst stations and just seeing whose lasts the best after six months.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

I take the El during rush hour and it’s consistently packed. Not sure where I heard 90% but I’m also convinced that that number is a lowball. At least 40% of our ridership right now is evading fares.

40%? Highly unlikely. With schools out and only 50% of office workers coming to work it would be hard to believe the El was anywhere close to 90% of 2019 levels. There is fare evasion, but that estimate sounds like urban legend. Ive seen people get through the turnstiles on BSL- it is definitely the exception, not the rule. Whatever the case may be- revenue indicates ridership is way off 2019 levels.

[summersm343]

Thanks for posting Skyhigh! Going to move this post to the Highrise thread though since both of these projects will more than likely be highrises.

[summersm343]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

More info...

Spring Garden’s makeover project has raised enough money to begin a trail-to-trail redesign

https://www.inquirer.com/transportat...-20220804.html

A group of people who have advocated for more than a decade to turn Philadelphia’s Spring Garden Street into a 2.1-mile “green boulevard” gathered Thursday to celebrate having pieced together $31 million to begin the environmental and traffic safety project.

When it’s finished, they say, the “Spring Garden Street Connector” will link popular trails on the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers and feature parking-protected bicycle lanes, trees, easier access to SEPTA rail stations and bus stops, a new stormwater management system, and safety improvements at 22 intersections to make the corridor more walkable.

Design of the project could take up to two years, said Mike Carroll, the city deputy managing director in charge of the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability. In addition to protected bike lanes, Spring Garden Street will get updated traffic signals and pedestrian bump-outs at intersections, an example of a complete street, safe for drivers and all other users.

Unlike the contentious Washington Avenue repaving and safety project, the Spring Garden project does not include a so-called road diet, or reduction in the number of lanes, Carroll said.

This is awesome! Finally!

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by PHLtoNYC

More info...

Spring Garden’s makeover project has raised enough money to begin a trail-to-trail redesign

https://www.inquirer.com/transportat...-20220804.html

A group of people who have advocated for more than a decade to turn Philadelphia’s Spring Garden Street into a 2.1-mile “green boulevard” gathered Thursday to celebrate having pieced together $31 million to begin the environmental and traffic safety project.

When it’s finished, they say, the “Spring Garden Street Connector” will link popular trails on the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers and feature parking-protected bicycle lanes, trees, easier access to SEPTA rail stations and bus stops, a new stormwater management system, and safety improvements at 22 intersections to make the corridor more walkable.

Design of the project could take up to two years, said Mike Carroll, the city deputy managing director in charge of the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability. In addition to protected bike lanes, Spring Garden Street will get updated traffic signals and pedestrian bump-outs at intersections, an example of a complete street, safe for drivers and all other users.

Unlike the contentious Washington Avenue repaving and safety project, the Spring Garden project does not include a so-called road diet, or reduction in the number of lanes, Carroll said.

This should be all the more reason to revive the 43 as a trolley.

[PurpleWhiteOut]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

That’s WILD. Is that normal? I would think those turnstyles that SEPTA was testing awhile back would help there.

They're just particularly easy to cheat. All you have to do is reach over and wave in front of the handicap gate and walk in. I've seen people do it in addition to walking in as a whole group.