Title
Authorizing the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities to hold public hearings to examine the impacts of and funding alternatives for an extension of the existing Broad Street Subway Line into the underserved Northeast along the Roosevelt Boulevard.
Body
WHEREAS, on Sunday, June 11, 2023, a fire underneath I95 caused a major collapse of the highway, sending thousands into a panic with limited viable alternative transit options to get from the Northeast to Center City; and
WHEREAS, Greater Northeast Philadelphia is one of the most underserved parts of the City and Nation when it comes to public transportation; and
WHEREAS, The idea of a heavy rail system to serve the largest geographic area of the City with over half a million residents began nearly 110 years ago in 1914; and
WHEREAS, Over the following 100 years progress began and stopped, repeatedly; and
WHEREAS, In 1964, funding was allocated and a station was constructed at Adams Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard; and
WHEREAS, The advantages of building the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway stem from the existence of a median in the middle of the boulevard left undeveloped and prime for rail infrastructure to be built; and
WHEREAS, The housing surrounding the Roosevelt Boulevard is dense and optimal to be served by rapid transit; and
WHEREAS, The Boulevard Extension would add over 100,000 daily riders to a public transportation system that continuously espouses the need to increase ridership; and
WHEREAS, Residents without a car must spend at least an hour using current transit alternatives to get to the employment-rich Center City; and
WHEREAS, The Roosevelt Boulevard Subway alternative would offer access to Center City for two dollars, within 30 minutes, with metro-level frequency; and
WHEREAS, The Roosevelt Boulevard is one of the most dangerous and deadly sections of road in the country; and
WHEREAS, Removing thousands of cars from the roads would improve driver and pedestrian safety, and facilitate a more sustainable less car-dependent future; and
WHEREAS, For comparison, the now-canceled King of Prussia Rail Project was slated to serve 9,768 daily riders at an original cost of $1.08 billion that at the time of the project being canceled the cost had ballooned to $3.02 billion; and
WHEREAS, This body supports the expansion of public transportation and supports decreasing the reliance on personal automobiles and inefficient highways; and
WHEREAS, This body believes that priorities must be set that conform to the goals of increasing ridership and investing in undersupported communities; and
WHEREAS, The New Starts grant program from the Federal Transit Administration, which rejected the KOP Project, has accepted projects such as the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 project, expected to add 123,000 Daily Linked Trips to the network; and
WHEREAS, The Second Avenue Subway project is the only one in the program with a higher predicted ridership that the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway; and
WHEREAS, The Roosevelt Boulevard Extension of the Broad Street Line would add over ten times the ridership of the KOP Rail Project and is supported by the City as evidenced by this resolution and commitments of all Mayoral candidates to pursue this project to uplift hundreds of thousands of Philadelphians who are not served by existing transit alternatives; and
WHEREAS, The Biden Administration is making investments in public transit projects to a scale not seen in any lifetime; and
WHEREAS, This project will require deep collaboration between SEPTA, The City of Philadelphia, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and federal government; and
WHEREAS, The time is now to think and act boldly, hesitation will mean wasting an opportunity to unleash the Northeast and make a more equitable City and region; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THAT THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Authorizes the City Council Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities to hold public hearings to examine the impacts of funding alternatives for an extension of the existing Broad Street Line into the underserved Northeast along the Roosevelt Boulevard.
End