SEPTA Gets Its Grubby Paws On Obama Stimulus To The Tune Of $193M
Memo to art department: Did we REALLY have to invoke the toilet imagery that much here?
It’s not that we begrudge any improvements that can possibly be made to SEPTA. It is more that we cannot trust SEPTA do anything, even when it comes to helping itself. But in a report on where stimulus money is going towards transportation projects in the area, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Economy League of Philadelphia reveals that SEPTA is in line to receive $193 million of a total of $631 million. Where would that money be going, pray tell? Oh, SEPTA has some ideas:
For regional transit, SEPTA has requested $478 million for system-wide renewal projects. The most expensive items are $41 million for rehabilitating a bridge on the Route 100 Norristown Line, $37 million for a new audio-visual public address system on the Regional Rail and suburban high-speed lines, $36 million for rehabilitating the Spring Garden Street and Girard Avenue Stations on the Broad Street Subway, and $34 million for a new power and signal substation on the R3-West Trenton Line. SEPTA requests were prioritized based on equitable distribution for city and suburban riders and crosses all service mode – bus, subway, trolley, and rail. DRPA also has requested $176 million, mostly for replacing PATCO’s existing car fleet.
That’s a lotta shit to take forever to finish and be done in as shoddy a manner as possible. We’ll follow up this post in ten years to see how it’s going.
Economy League of Philadelphia: Expressway To Yr Stimulus
February 24th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Why not invest in projects that may increase revenue? Say, a fare card system perhaps. Guess that may be too “21st century” for SEPTA.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Or even something as simple as a hose and some soap to cut down on that piss smell.
February 24th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
the graphic kinda looks like one of these.
http://www.go-girl.com
February 24th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
How about adding a few buses to the over-crowded and under-served 47 route? I like the fare card idea, too.
February 24th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Wha-wha-wha? A “new audio-visual public address system on the Regional Rail and suburban high-speed lines”? What’s wrong with the audio-visual experience of a conductor?
Really, this is so we can hear every excruciating excuse for why a train’s not moving in high definition.
February 24th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Disgraceful: Yes, please, on the more buses for the 47 route.
But the fare card, and a lot of other future-looking ideas, never would have gotten funded as part of a shovel-ready stimulus package. Not Septa’s fault. Also, if you read the Inqy’s article, you realize how wildly needed some of this stuff is: tracks from the 20′s?
February 24th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
ugh. i get mad every time i take SEPTA (multiple times a week, but not every day) because they dont have “normal” fare cards like new yorks metrocard
February 24th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
@ tsarstruck: I don’t believe the stimulus bill was so detailed as to determine the exact SEPTA projects slated for funding. I think overall modernization of a transit agency (of which fare collection systems are a vital part) should fall within the realm of economic expansion.