Sen. Mike Stack (podium) talks about the need for long-term transportation infrastructure funding. He was joined Wednesday by (left to right) Rep. Mike McGeehan; Dr. Dick Voith, the senior vice president and principal of Econsult Corp; and Craig Hoogstraten of Anderson Construction. Photo/Office of Sen. Mike Stack

“Our transportation system is falling apart right under our tires,” Pa. Sen. Mike Stack said yesterday.

He joined Pa. Rep. Mike McGeehan and transportation officials at Holmesburg Junction Station to call for  funding for Pennsylvania’s distressed transit system.

By their count, more than 1 million people used SEPTA to get around last year.  continue reading »

Holmesburg Junction Station in December 2011. Photo/Shannon McDonald

For many who take the train every day, Holmesburg Junction is their first (and sometimes only) glimpse at the neighborhood.

The aging train station has been a focus of a joint effort by the Upper Holmesburg Civic Association and Philadelphia City Planning Commission as the pair work on neighborhood improvements under the Phila2035 plan.

But while those efforts concentrate on greening, waterway access and an overall more desirable-looking neighborhood anchor, legislators Wednesday will focus on the station’s need for funding to better serve the community. continue reading »

A backhowe moves a ballast as SEPTA continues repairs to the Fox Chase Line. Photo by G.E. Reutter

SEPTA’s Fox Chase Line improvement project closed Oxford Avenue late last week. The grade crossing improvement project in the 7800-block of Oxford Avenue resulted in detours for area residents.

Northbound traffic was detoured onto Rockwell Avenue and southbound traffic onto Hasbrook Avenue to Central Avenue. continue reading »

Summer brought strawberries to the Oxford Circle Farmers Market. It and the Frankford Farmers Market opened this year with help from the Food Trust. Photo by Ben Bergman.

Frankford Farmers Market has been open for quite some time, but Mayor Michael Nutter will help mark the official grand opening tomorrow.

The Department of Public Health, the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities,  SEPTA and The Food Trust will be at the Frankford Transportation Center at 9:30 a.m. to celebrate the market’s offerings of fresh, local food. continue reading »

SEPTA crews work on the Fox Chase Line along the 7800-block of Oxford Avenue.

Buses will be used to replace train service between 10 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. this month on the SEPTA Fox Chase line from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 and throughout September.

The interruption in service is due to a tie replacement project on the Fox Chase Line. SEPTA has moved in a track gang to replace ties on the line and constructed a temporary rail yard at Rhawn Street and Elberon Avenue to stage equipment. continue reading »

A view of Frankford Transportation Center from Frankford Avenue at Bridge Street.

A SEPTA bus driver likely won’t face charges for the early morning accident that left a pedestrian dead.

Just after midnight, a man in his 30s was struck by a Route 14 bus at Frankford Transportation Center as the driver pulled into the terminal.

The man was taken to Hahnemann University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The accident is still being investigated.

A minivan sustained front-end damage in a crash with the Route 59 SEPTA bus. Photo by Simon Skymba.

Reader Simon Skymba shared some photos with us from yesterday afternoons crash at Tyson and Castor Avenues involving the Route 59 SEPTA bus and a minivan. continue reading »

A bus accident sent eight people to the hospital yesterday morning when the Route 50 bus and a car were involved in a crash in the southbound lanes of Roosevelt Boulevard at Pennypack Circle.

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission is proposing a new subway station near the corner of Bustleton Avenue and Robbins Street, along Roosevelt Boulevard. The station would be a subway and elevated line station connected to the Broad Street line’s express tracks.

The proposal, published in a city-wide blueprint for 2035, describes the Northeast as one of the least connected regions by public transit.

Read the rest on Philadelphia Neighborhoods.

Phil Pappas, left, and Mike Mawson, of West Frankford Town Watch, outside the Thriftway at Frankford Avenue and Pratt Street around 2 a.m. Sat. July 10.

Mike Mawson smells something.

It’s past midnight on Comly Street near Bustleton in Mayfair. The sun went down hours ago, but forgot to take this sticky July heat with it. Mawson is riding shotgun in the sensible four-door sedan that his partner Phil Pappas drives. The West Frankford Town Watch patrol was circling around to head back south of Cheltenham Avenue to drive the streets of its namesake neighborhood when Mawson caught a whiff of something off in the still nighttime air.

“It smells like something is burning,” confirms soft-featured Pappas, 53, sitting upright with two hands on the steering wheel and dressed with purpose in matching earthtones. “I’ll pull over.”

continue reading »