Septa tore down the bus turn around on 33rd.

[gideon]

was driving past it yesterday and saw most of it gone. it was such a classic little structure. why did they do that?

[Jayfar]

SEPTA | SEPTA Begins Reconstruction at 33rd & Dauphin Bus Loop

SEPTA Begins Reconstruction at 33rd & Dauphin Bus Loop

Goal: Improve Customer Service & Community With Modernized Transit Hub
September 10, 2012
PHILADELPHIA, PA - SEPTA gathered with local officials and community members on Monday, September 10, 2012 to break ground on the reconstruction of a major transit hub in Strawberry Mansion.
The 33rd and Dauphin Bus Loop Improvement Project, a $4.4 million initiative funded by a competitive grant from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), will result in the full renovation of a key, but aging facility for city bus operations. The loop is one of SEPTA's last remaining "trolley barns", and its legacy will remain in-tact, with the new loop incorporating original brick and other materials that will be recycled and used in the reconstruction.
"In addition to modern amenities for customers, this state-of-the-art transit hub will serve as a centerpiece for neighborhood revitalization efforts," said SEPTA General Manager Joseph M. Casey. "SEPTA looks forward to providing the community with a first-class facility."
The loop serves 2,115 riders daily as the terminus for routes 7, 39 and 54, and with stops on routes 32 and 61. In addition to neighborhood residents and nearby businesses, it provides service to institutions such as the Dell East Music Center and Strawberry Mansion High School.
The 18-month project will result in a variety of improvements in and around the facility, such as a restored main building, which will feature salvaged brick to help preserve the "trolley barn" heritage. Existing decorative cornice trim will be repaired and painted, and the masonry repointed. The building will have space for storage, operator restrooms and retail space.
A number of new amenities for customers will be added, including a bus canopy, passenger shelters, benches, enhanced lighting, trash cans and signage. Bike racks will also be installed, as will new plumbing, heating and ventilation systems. An Art-in-Transit project is also planned.
SEPTA is making sustainability a key part of the new loop, which will feature a green roof. This helps improve the environment, and also helps alleviate storm-water problems by reducing run-off. There will also be a landscaped bio-retention basin on the 33rd Street side, which faces Fairmount Park.
Upon completion of the project, the loop will be fully accessible under the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). ADA-related improvements include raised-boarding areas and new curb cuts.
There will also be safety enhancements for customers, pedestrians and motorists using surrounding roads, such as a redesign of bus lanes to optimize traffic flow and a new curbside bus berthing area. The new facility will reduce the number of bus lanes to three, from the current four, to allow for wider lanes and enhanced boarding access for customers.
The loop will be closed for the duration of construction. Customers are being directed to nearby temporary stops to accommodate work. For more service information related to the project, click here.
SEPTA also has a special section online with details about the project. For more information, click here.

[eldondre]

Septa generally overdoes these things so every project is expensive.

[the mule]

Nice, that place could really use an overhaul. But bike racks? Who is going to leave their bike there?

[mixiboi]

Its not a bus turn, its a trolley turn..and a ancient outdated, inadequate turn at that.. especially for buses. Which is why they anted to update it.


But sadly soemoen wanted to save the "History" of that thing so now they have to keep the history and not do a modern update that is needed there...


No, we have to save the history of the neighborhood.. meanwhile several houses on that block are decaying from being abandon and neglected...


I have nothing against saving it, its just we cherry pick what we want to save, especially something that makes it harder for SEPTA(More expensive) to make the service better for riders.

This is what people see what they are saving:



This is the reality:



And this is what could be:

[billy ross]

Bull****. They could have continued to reuse the existing structure. Instead short-thinking morons decided to destroy history in the name of 'efficiency'. It isn't much different from what the *******s did with all of the 'obsolete' Furness buildings. And, as if SEPTA knows the meaning of the word 'efficiency'. By this logic we should demolish the Ben Franklin Bridge in favor of something which is more in keeping with the times. City Hall's gotta go. The Art Museum is horribly obsolete. Memorial Hall has outlived its usefulness also. When the 'efficiency' experts, who know nothing of true efficiency, get their chance to remake the world, we end up with Exton. Is that what we want?

Its not a bus turn, its a trolley turn..and a ancient outdated, inadequate turn at that.. especially for buses. Which is why they anted to update it.


But sadly soemoen wanted to save the "History" of that thing so now they have to keep the history and not do a modern update that is needed there...


No, we have to save the history of the neighborhood.. meanwhile several houses on that block are decaying from being abandon and neglected...


I have nothing against saving it, its just we cherry pick what we want to save, especially something that makes it harder for SEPTA(More expensive) to make the service better for riders.

This is what people see what they are saving:



This is the reality:



And this is what could be:

[eldondre]

Mixiboi undermines his own argument by showing a functional structure that looks a lot like the one that will replace it. Another wasteful septa project. Septas complete stations approach is a joke. We get infrequent but expensice complete schlock. They remove attractive subway entrances and replace with garbage. Garbage tile, garbage art , shoddy craftmanship...meanwhile they could have done four or five starions for ada for that price.

[the mule]

Bull****. They could have continued to reuse the existing structure. Instead short-thinking morons decided to destroy history in the name of 'efficiency'. It isn't much different from what the *******s did with all of the 'obsolete' Furness buildings. And, as if SEPTA knows the meaning of the word 'efficiency'. By this logic we should demolish the Ben Franklin Bridge in favor of something which is more in keeping with the times. City Hall's gotta go. The Art Museum is horribly obsolete. Memorial Hall has outlived its usefulness also. When the 'efficiency' experts, who know nothing of true efficiency, get their chance to remake the world, we end up with Exton. Is that what we want?

It's a freakin bus turn, comprised of a few brick columns, a cornice, and a flat roof. Talking about this and Furness-designed buildings in the same breath is ludicrous. This is one architecturally insignificant, antiquated piece of infrastructure in a sea of crumbling, formerly beautiful Strawberry Mansion townhouses. Let's get some perspective.

[eldondre]

It's a freakin bus turn, comprised of a few brick columns, a cornice, and a flat roof. Talking about this and Furness-designed buildings in the same breath is ludicrous. This is one architecturally insignificant, antiquated piece of infrastructure in a sea of crumbling, formerly beautiful Strawberry Mansion townhouses. Let's get some perspective.

the problem is the structure is just fine, there are far worse things that SEPTA needs to address for $4.4 million, not least of which is 20 years later they're still out of compliance with ADA on it's trunk lines. this is exactly what's wrong with transportation funding. the feds can't prioritize effectively and we all suffer for it, and SEPTA's shoddy crews only make it worse. I still can't figure out how the same organization that did allen lane station so well completely botched girard and spring garden and wasted so much money there (though no doubt allen lane was expensive). when you go to ny or chicago they don't seem to completely redo their stations with God awful modern tile work, they updated them as needed and even find money for decent artwork.

[raider.adam]

Nice, that place could really use an overhaul. But bike racks? Who is going to leave their bike there?

For the couple bucks they should cost, I don't see an issue with putting them in.

[the mule]

For the couple bucks they should cost, I don't see an issue with putting them in.

I'll check back in a year and fully expect to find a scene like this:

[billy ross]

It's a freakin bus turn, comprised of a few brick columns, a cornice, and a flat roof. Talking about this and Furness-designed buildings in the same breath is ludicrous. This is one architecturally insignificant, antiquated piece of infrastructure in a sea of crumbling, formerly beautiful Strawberry Mansion townhouses. Let's get some perspective.

When something's lasted 120 years and is still in excellent condition, only a fool would demolish it to replace with something 'new' and non-obsolete. The patina of time takes decades to build up.

That structure was solid, pleasing, and it reminded us of the past. It had nice details, and it was one of the few things in that area which are in good repair. Now it's gone.

It's the background buildings that create a place. When you demolish them and rebuild, it's hard to maintain any continuity with that past and any sense of where we came from, how we got to where we are today. Why is Wall Street so named? You could never tell from looking at it today. Similarly Domino Lane in Roxborough, and Conshocken Avenue near the Falls Bridge. I don't like severing ties with the past - it is disorienting. Have you ever wondered why School House Lane is so named? Where Fairmount got its name from? Why the Blue Route is so called? What Cathedral Road has the do with the Blue Route (and what Cathedral Road is such a wide road that ends abruptly on either end of its short run? It's really hard to figure out where we're going if we're ignorant of where we came from and how we got here. Erasing evidence of the past (in this case, the perfectly intact turnaround point of West Park Trolley, which in its day was a huge thing) is a horrible idea.

[raider.adam]

I'll check back in a year and fully expect to find a scene like this:

So in other words it may look like bike racks in Center city?

[the mule]

So in other words it may look like bike racks in Center city?

Yeah that was silly of me, I actually don't expect to see any bike carcasses on it because nobody in their right mind would leave their bike locked up at 33rd and Dauphin. I'll be surprised if the bike racks themselves aren't stolen.

[the mule]

Dupe post. What's going on with the constant duplicates recently?

[eldondre]

Yeah that was silly of me, I actually don't expect to see any bike carcasses on it because nobody in their right mind would leave their bike locked up at 33rd and Dauphin. I'll be surprised if the bike racks themselves aren't stolen.

not to mention it seems a strange place to bike to to catch transit, most neighboring areas have decent places and this is a bus turnaround, not a rapid transit station.

[MNG1324]

It's a Septa project so the bike racks can also serve as the bad art.

[O.H. Lee]

....What Cathedral Road has the do with the Blue Route (and what Cathedral Road is such a wide road that ends abruptly on either end of its short run? ....

I'll bite. Why ?

[NickFromGtown]

Mixiboi undermines his own argument by showing a functional structure that looks a lot like the one that will replace it. Another wasteful septa project. Septas complete stations approach is a joke. We get infrequent but expensice complete schlock. They remove attractive subway entrances and replace with garbage. Garbage tile, garbage art , shoddy craftmanship...meanwhile they could have done four or five starions for ada for that price.

I don't understand the last picture that he posted. Is this is what's getting rebuilt? Or is this a render that was passed over?

[the mule]

I don't understand the last picture that he posted. Is this is what's getting rebuilt? Or is this a render that was passed over?

It's a rendering of what is to be completed.