WHAT DO YOU get for the corporate hot spot that seems like
it has everything?
How 'bout some underground transit?
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey called yesterday for extending SEPTA's
Broad Street subway line into the Navy Yard, given the area's dramatic rebirth
as a sprawling office park that's home to about 10,000 workers.
Casey sent a letter to Brigid Hynes-Cherin, the Federal
Transportation Agency's (FTA) regional administrator, urging her to discuss the
potential project with SEPTA, the Philadelphia Industrial Development
Corporation (PIDC), the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local
98 and the Philadelphia Building and Construction Trades.
More coverage
Stu-niversity: Reviving the Navy Yard
John Rizzo, Casey's spokesman, said the senator has heard
from a number of local business leaders and workers who want to see the subway
line extended south 1 1/2 miles into the Navy Yard. The line currently ends at
Pattison Avenue.
Casey, in his letter to Hynes-Cherin, noted that many Navy
Yard employees rely on a shuttle bus that PIDC uses to ferry them to other
SEPTA stops.
"As the Navy Yard continues to grow, we need to start
planning for a long-term solution that will provide commuters with direct
access to the Navy Yard as part of SEPTA's subway system," Casey wrote.
Hynes-Cherin could not be reached for comment.
The Navy Yard is home to more than 130 companies and an
ever-growing collection of sleek new office buildings. Its first hotel, the
Courtyard by Marriott, is expected to open in January, and plans are afoot to
add restaurants and residential properties to the area.
A 2007 feasibility study from the PIDC, the Delaware Valley
Regional Planning Commission and others determined that extending the Broad
Street Line into the Navy Yard would cost about $370 million.
According to the study, the new subway line would attract
about 8,000 riders and prove to be more cost-effective on a per-rider basis
than expanding other transit offerings.
"While SEPTA's priority remains addressing our $5
billion backlog of critical infrastructure projects, we also participate in a
responsible long-range planning process that evaluates the future transit needs
of the region," Joe Casey, SEPTA's general manager, said in an emailed
statement.
"The FTA's competitive New Starts Program funds major
capital investments, such as the proposed Broad Street Line extension, and we
appreciate Sen. Casey's interest and support his efforts to contact the FTA and
highlight the merits of the project," he continued.
Source: Philly.com
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