I hate kicking someone while they’re down (unless the someone is the Dallas Cowboys or the Atlanta Braves) but man, PATCO is having a rough time of it, and it strengthens the argument that it needs to be killed and its corpse fed to SEPTA. Since January 18th, they’ve been running a limited schedule from …
Author Archives: Michael Noda
No, really, I don’t know, and I need one now
The winter of 2013-2014 is shaping up to be the “Winter of the Sneckdown”. The urban-space nerd’s portmanteau of “snowy neckdown” has suddenly become ubiquitous, with Friend of the Blog Jon Geeting’s photoessay on sneckdowns on East Passyunk Ave on This Old City going viral nationally. As the awareness (and buzz) has grown around unplowed …
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Fuck the State
Jon Geeting brings the truth at Keystone Politics: …Philadelphia and Pittsburgh’s transit funding is excessively dependent on both state funding and fares. For political-geographic reasons, our transit authorities will never receive generous funding from the state. No, this is not a coordination problem between state reps. There just aren’t enough transit riders to make growing …
The ultimate in pervious “paving”!
It’s winters like this one, where I wonder if it would be worth it to run a pilot program replacing the asphalt pavement on some trinity streets with gravel. I’m speaking specifically of cartways of 15 feet or less in width (i.e. too narrow for parking), the ones that aren’t already done in brick or …
How do you solve a problem like DRPA? Kill it.
(OK, the scansion needs a lot of work.) The idea of a transportation authority is very simple. By isolating an important public function from direct interference (and oversight) from elected officials, you can create an atmosphere of continuity and stability that allows the authority to issue bonds without undue distress (in the form of higher …
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Hold this thought
New Jersey Senate committee approves transit agency consolidation: Should SEPTA and PATCO combine their commuter rail operations? Would North Jersey commuters be better served if PATH trains were run by NJ Transit or New York City’s MTA? A plan to consider such mergers cleared a New Jersey Senate panel this week. … The resolution proposes …
Support better writing than you find here
Inga Saffron wants your stories: I’m doing some thinking about Septa buses in Philly. Are there places where we should change routes to accommodate growing/shrinking population? Which routes need more frequent service? Anyone with #17 bus horror stories out there (or other bus routes)? Email me: isaffron@phillynews.com Oh, the 17. My 17 story is that …
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Second verse, same as the first
Unfortunately a day after the storm is not enough to bring Philadelphia out of its persisting transport woes. The winter storm that dropped a foot of snow on the Delaware Valley yesterday has left the city in the throes of bitter cold, and fine, powdery, blowing, drifting snow; both of those conditions are strongly counterindicated …
In the land of the unmoving, a limping transit system is king
Philadelphia had a rough day today, as up to a foot of snow fell on most of the region in a storm that arrived faster and lingered longer than initial forecasts had predicted. As the deep Arctic freeze settles in for the night, it’s worth commending SEPTA and PATCO, while they took considerable lumps, for …
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Mister Gorbachev, open this gate!
Commenter Noah asks the following: Do you know more about this, from Wikipedia? “SEPTA’s Market-Frankford Line (also known as the “El”) and all of SEPTA’s Subway-Surface Lines stop at the 30th Street subway station, less than 1/2 block (< 1/10 mile) from the southwest entrance to 30th Street Station. A tunnel connecting the underground subway …
Sic Transit Philadelphia 