Once a fixture of Philadelphia's transit system, the original streetcar
has disappeared from routes once well-tread on 11th and 12th Streets and
on Market Street. But while the trolley's lack of maneuverability got
it removed from Center City, the Route 15 Trolley, that runs the length
of Girard Avenue, has become a fixture of one of the city's most
eclectic neighborhood corridors. So when
SEPTA announced that it would
be closing the Route 15 Trolley because it interfered with PennDOT's
renovation of I-95, something had to be done.
This week, SEPTA began construction on a turnaround: a looped section of
track at the corner of Frankford and Delaware Avenues. This turnaround
would allow continued service on the Route 15 through the two-year
PennDOT project. For the time being, SEPTA is running buses until the
new track work is complete. The turnaround is scheduled for completion
on Feb. 13, 2011. Unfortunately for Fishtown residents, the
easternmost section
of the route--between Frankford
Avenue and Richmond and Westmoreland streets--will remain on bussed
routes for the duration of the construction, scheduled to be completed
in early 2013.
"The Route 15 trolley is a part of the community," says SEPTA spokesman
Andrew Busch. "There would have to be a much stronger reason to
discontinue trolley service than a small construction project."
Many community members have posited that the reason for the turnaround
placement was to provide access to the newly-built SugarHouse casino.
SEPTA has announced that the trolley will stop at the turnaround to
unload passengers. The plan now, Busch says, is to have an additional
option for the direction of this historic trolley in the future.
"The loop will be there when we get the full line back," says Busch.
"It's good to have the option to add this turnaround to the line if we
need it."
Source: Andrew Busch, SEPTA
Writer: John Steele