The slide show image depicted a computer rendering of a
sleek train traveling along an elevated rail alongside some houses.
Cries of "No!" immediately burst from the audience.
"Those are our homes," one person shouted.
Monday night, SEPTA gave the public a first chance to
comment on the preferred plan for a five-mile rail spur to connect Philadelphia
to King of Prussia's thriving businesses. There was heated opposition from some
of the 200 people at the meeting at the Radisson Hotel in Valley Forge.
Most contentious was the segment of the rail that would
run adjacent to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. That route would put the elevated
tracks near 25 to 29 homes.
One woman said the track would pass about 50 feet from
her back door.
"The value of my property is going to be worth
zippo," said Kathleen Holtzinger, who lives on Powderhorn Road in the
Valley Forge Homes development.
SEPTA officials said the proposed route was one of five
reviewed, and it offered the least impact on residential properties.
The transit agency did not rule out the possibility of
securing the right-of-way it needs through eminent domain or similar
instruments, but said it was too early to know whether that would be necessary.
SEPTA officials emphasized that the proposed route was a
starting point, not the final proposal for the spur.
"We want to take this to the public," said Liz
Smith, SEPTA's manager of long-range planning. "We want to get impact and
feedback from all of you."
The proposed spur, which will carry trains about 17 feet
above street level, would use a right-of-way occupied by Peco high-tension
wires to the turnpike and follow First Avenue into the King of Prussia business
park.
It would include stops at Henderson Road; two stops at the
King of Prussia Mall, including one that would deposit passengers inside the
mall itself; and two more in the business park, an area being reimagined as a
dense mixed-use redevelopment.
An alternative route along Route 202 was not recommended
by SEPTA because it would be too disruptive. Some people suggested that
businesses along that busy road were getting more consideration than residents.
"I don't know how everyone else feels it," said
Joe Groff who lives on Bluebluff Road near the proposed route, "but it
feels like the residents are getting the short end of the stick."
Speakers at the meeting questioned the need for the rail
spur.
They also raised questions about the stability of the
area. Upper Merion is pockmarked with sinkholes. SEPTA officials said they
would tie the foundations of the tracks to bedrock to ensure stability, and
said they would conduct vibration studies so passing trains wouldn't damage the
foundations of homes.
Not all the feedback was negative. Several speakers noted
that the rail spur could help mitigate the traffic crush in Upper Merion.
"I've watched the roads get bigger and bigger, and
I've watched the traffic get worse and worse," said Jaque Camp, chair of
the township's planning commission. "We have to break the cycle."
Others liked the idea of using the train to get dropped
off at the mall.
"I could walk to the train," said Debbie
Collins, who lives in King of Prussia. "It would be so convenient."
During the meeting, Smith said a SEPTA survey found that
67 percent of about 1,000 respondents, a third of whom lived in Upper Merion,
support the extension and 53 percent said they would use it.
Another study projected that 56 percent of riders would
come from Montgomery County. Philadelphians would represent 19 percent of
users.
Proponents are touting the economic benefits rail access
to King of Prussia can bring. Over 20 years, a study from the Economy League of
Greater Philadelphia projected, rail service could bring $540 million to $946
million in real estate value, thousands of new jobs, and millions of hours in
commuting time drivers currently spend on congested roads.
When complete, it's estimated the rail spur would move
8,500 passengers daily.
How to pay for the $1.1 billion project is something of
an open question. SEPTA is pursuing about half that amount through federal
grant money.
There are two more meetings scheduled: from 4 to 8 p.m.
Wednesday at the Norristown Municipal Building, 235 E. Airy St.; and from 2 to
8 p.m. March 15 at the Doubletree Hotel in Valley Forge, 301 W. Dekalb Pike in
King of Prussia.
Source: Philly.com
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