Albert Yee focuses on transportation along with the wrap-up session in the third of his three-part post on the Dec. 2 Citizens Convention. He writes:
My final session for the day was transportationhttp://www.greatexpectations07.com/node/301. It was a smaller group of about 10, with 2 moderators, spread out a large circle. Why we didn't move close to each other, I'm not quite sure. That didn't stop a spirited discussion focused around SEPTAhttp://septa.com/ and the PPAhttp://www.philapark.org/home.aspx. Skip opened up the discussion with concerns about limited English seniors who get no sympathy from SEPTA. He said that he's tried numerous times to initiate talks with SEPTA about the issue, but they refuse to meet him and his minority-represented groups. One of the moderators, Carol, added that many seniors don't know that they can ride SEPTA for freehttp://www.septa.com/fares/senior_citizens.html.
Greg, who was the youngest participant I saw, had a lot to say during the meeting. He wondered why SEPTA didn't have free systemwide mapshttp://www.septa.com/store/books_maps/city_maps.html. Another participant, Debi, said she recently bought the systemwide map. It set her back $10. NYC's MTA has the full color, zebra-folding mapshttp://www.mta.info/mta/maps.htm all over the city. DC's Metro offers mapshttp://www.wmata.com/maps/maps.cfm that you can download to your iPod. Boston's T has downloadable mapshttp://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/system_map/ for all their lines. Chicago's CTA also has mapshttp://www.transitchicago.com/maps/systemmaps.html you can download in .pdf. Would it kill SEPTA to stitch together some printable resolution .pdfs for people? How many people are buying those $10 maps anyway? I've lived here for 3.5 years and I didn't know they existed until Debi said she actually owned one.
Steve, who walks with the help of a cane, but still an avid biker, was very concerned about bike lanes throughout Philadelphia. He said that the dedicated bus/bike lanes are treacherous and that he opts to ride behind buses breathing in the soot and fumes rather than risk riding in front of the buses. Skip, who also uses a cane, added that he'd take SEPTA more often if he knew which subway stations had elevators or escalators. He said he's forced to drive into town because there's no easy way to know if certain stations are accessible.
One of Nutter's wishes is to have SEPTA employees smile more often. It was one of the bullet points on the agenda as well. Sue pointed out that good customer service is more than a smile. Debi wanted trip planning capabilities between SETPA, NJThttp://www.njtransit.com/hp/hp_servlet.srv?hdnPageAction=HomePageTo and DART to be linked for easier trip planning. SEPTA's R7 train schedule does have the times for the connecting NJT trains to NYC, but you can't access those timetables via the Trip Planner.
Marsha wanted to see the transit stations to undergo a beautification project and for the community to be a part of the planning process. While Philly's system is never going to look like the gorgeous Stockholm Metro, there's plenty of room for improvement.
So many wishes, but where will the money come from? Well, SEPTA has been promised money by the state. But Carol noted that the state isn't 100% sure where it will come from. Once SEPTA does get the money, what then? They're a private company not beholden to the City of Philadelphia. With only 2 board members representing the city, while the city represents the majority of the ridership, Philadelphians cannot control the fate of their own transit system.
Shifting gears for a sec, here's Sol, he works at the airport. We were discussing patronage issues within the city and he had some insight on the matter. He noted that while things may seem fair on the top of the picture with numerous contractors bidding on projects, it's the subcontractors who are the recipients of the big patronage contracts. Transit to/fro PHL and the other area airports was another issue. How to facilitate transit between the various airports with each other and to Center City Philadelphia. One suggestion was to create an airport authority overseeing all of the area airports (PNE, LVI, PHL) instead of one overseeing PHL. A rail system connecting the airports and the hotels in Center City would attract more options for travelers. The situation at U.S. Airways is another story altogether.
The group wanted to see improvement in access to information about transit and a revived Department of Transportation in the Mayor's office (something Nutter has promised to bring back). But with so much out of the hands of the ordinary citizen, it was frustrating to come up with ideas as they were, in the end, reliant on agencies like SEPTA and the PPA to act first.
So that brings us to the closing of the day-long convention. We all headed to the auditorium and took our seats. The Inquirer's Chris Satullo urged everyone to take their seats for a special guest to come to the stage straight from South Philly. Who could it be? Was it going to be one of the Eagles? No, they were busy getting beat by the 'Hawks. A Flyer or 76er concerned about the fate of Philly?
It was Patsy. I have no idea who she was. She told some jokes, South Philly styles.
Jodie Chester Lowe of Philly.com and Chris Satullo went through a slideshow of what was to come for the Great Expectations project on the gigantic movie screen.
In January and February of 2008, they said numerous neighborhood agenda forums would be held. Also, the final agenda would be presented to then Mayor Nutter and the new City Council. Throughout 2008, there will be issue forums on topics like policing strategy, immigration and gentrification. In addition, GE would be monitoring the progress of the agenda through follow-up forums.
5 p.m. rolled around and the auditorium let out. It was dark, rainy and still cold outside, but the 500+ of us said a lot and talked about some important issues. I hope that Mayor Nutter takes a nice long look at the agenda booklet he will be given in the next 2 months. A lot of real people, not consultants, put in many hours to develop it.
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