Saturday, May 10, 2008

Philly Transit in a Perfect World

When I first moved to Philly, I wrote a post complaining of the ridiculously bad public transit here. Ever since, I've been thinking about places I wish had their own subway stops. Seeing this map of the possible future of the DC metro spurred me to create my own map of my dream subway system for Center City (click on the link to the larger map so you can click on each line and read the blurbs).




View Larger Map

This is obviously quite unscientific--I have no idea where the real demand is. I am certain, however, that it's not on either of the existing lines. The buses have to pick up the slack and, based on how crowded they are at off hours, I don't even want to know how bad they are at rush hour. Since the lines already meet at Broad and Market, I figured it would make sense for the other lines to interest there to make transfers easier.

This dream map also would make it a lot easier for tourists to get around by connecting the Independence Mall area to the art museum. And it might seem silly to have a line so close to the Market st. line, but Walnut is really where things are happening in both West Philly and Center City. An express bus, at the very least, would be a huge help.

A few other highlights: that tourist-friendly red line would go to the Italian Market and end up at the big box stores, including the Super Fresh and Target. Frankly, I think getting a DC metro stop in Georgetown, pipe dream as that has always been, is a whole lot more likely than any of these changes happening in Philly.

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