SEPTA: Route 23 Trolley's Fate Riding on Girard Trolley

by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

Bogged down in a bitter political quagmire for more than a year, an historic fleet of 18 World War II-era streetcars returned to Girard Avenue last week, 13 years after SEPTA “temporarily” replaced them with diesel buses.

The transit agency’s restoration of light rail on Route 15, which stretches from Port Richmond to Haddington, fulfills part of a promise it made to the city under then-Mayor Rendell in 1992, when it cut regular trolley service on Routes 15, 23 and 56 to remedy a budget crunch.

Initially, SEPTA promised to return trolleys to the three routes within five years, but it did not allocate resources for the project until Rendell threatened to veto the transit agency’s budget in 1997.

Eight years and $85 million later, streetcars are rolling on one of the three rail lines, a move that Northwest transit activists hope will reignite the debate over trolleys in Philadelphia.

But given SEPTA’s historic ambivalence to light rail, trolley supporters have their work cut out for them. Also, local elected officials have proved reluctant to take up the cause.

Last Thursday, when SEPTA officials gathered with community leaders just outside the entrance to the Philadelphia Zoo to announce the return of the Route 15 streetcars, high-profile city and state officials were conspicuously absent. Among the missing: Mayor Street, City Councilman Michael Nutter and Gov. Rendell.

While all three pols played a role in forcing the issue, they did so only after public pressure was brought to bear in June, when it was revealed that the Route 15 project had been stalled for more than a year due to that ever-present culprit: Philadelphia politics.

Carol Campbell, one of the city’s most powerful ward leaders, representing residents along a half block stretch of the line in West Philadelphia, objected to losing parking spots on the street.

Now, with the political impasse resolved and trolleys running down the tracks, a group of Northwest transit activists are making the case for Route 23, linking rail to economic development.

But SEPTA says it has more immediate concerns.

Asked if the Girard Avenue trolleys signaled the return of rail to Route 23, which runs from Chestnut Hill to South Philadelphia, SEPTA board chairman Pasquale T. “Pat” Deon said, “We’re in a day-to-day battle for our budget, and trolleys are very expensive lines to run.”

Returning streetcars to Route 23, let alone Route 56, depends on the success of Route 15, he said. “The real issue for us is the financial viability of running these trolleys. If the ridership is great on [Route 15], then I think it would bode well for us to look at the other lines.”

According to Deon, the Route 15 trolleys will cost $3 million to operate each year. Buses, he said, were “considerably cheaper,” perhaps costing half that amount.

Deon added: “That’s not to say that SEPTA doesn’t honor its commitments. [The 1992 agreement] was done by a completely different board. I’m not even sure what the commitment was. I have never read it, but everybody says it’s there.”

SEPTA’s wait-and-see approach leaves transit activists like Farah Jimenez and Janet Potter steaming.

“It’s not an option as to whether or not [SEPTA] will look at reactivating Route 23,” said Jimenez, transportation chair of Philadelphia’s Historic Northwest Coalition. “They made a promise that they need to honor. That promise still stands. It’s not something that needs to be examined.”

Potter, a Chestnut Hill resident who chartered antique trolleys for streetcar tours of Northwest Philadelphia on and off for six years, agrees.

“The original agreement was never written that way,” Potter said. “SEPTA has always used that excuse for not making Route 23 happen. What’s worse is SEPTA itself does not have the will to make Route 15 succeed.”

For Potter and other Northwest residents, last week’s Route 15 kickoff was bittersweet. Potter was among the members of Philadelphia’s Historic Northwest Coalition that descended on Girard Avenue years ago, rallying community leaders around the trolley cause. Ultimately, the effort birthed Girard Coalition, Inc., a nonprofit community revitalization group.
“It’s a great victory, but this is a rather hypocritical event,” Potter said. “If Route 15 does not do well, SEPTA will be very happy.”

For Jimenez, also executive director of Mt. Airy USA, a community development corporation, trolleys mean more than nostalgia. Rail, she said, can spur new jobs, business and housing.

She points to the emerging Girard Avenue corridor in areas like Fishtown and Northern Liberties, which are undergoing commercial revitalizations and housing booms. The Philadelphia Zoo, located along Route 15, also recently received $7 million in federal funds to construct a new on-site transportation center, which will connect with regional rail. “That kind of investment doesn’t happen on bus lines,” Jimenez said. “It just doesn’t.”

Returning rail service to Route 23 could mean “an incredible amount of investment for the Northwest,” she said. “We really take what is a fabulous system for granted in Philadelphia. While other cities are creating new rail lines … our reaction is to ignore them or tear them up.”

Moreover, transit, she said, is a public asset as valuable as the city’s parks, schools and libraries. “Transit is not just about moving people. It’s a resource that contributes to our quality of life and adds value to our real estate.”

Gov. Rendell’s stance on the Route 23 issue remains unclear. Calls to Kate Phillips, Rendell’s press secretary, went unreturned at press time.

In the meantime, Girard Avenue leaders intend to market their neighborhood around the trolleys.

“The Route 15 is important to changing the image of Girard Avenue,” said David L. Cohen, executive director of Girard Coalition, Inc. and former Chestnut Hill resident.

The coalition installed 56 mural art banners, which were designed by local artists, along the main commercial corridor last week, Cohen said. Regular street cleaning begins this week, he said.

“I think it’s going to be key to bringing people back to walking up and down Girard Avenue,” said Rojer Kern, corridor manager of Girard Coalition, Inc. “We’re looking to slow down the pace, so that people have the time to see the businesses that are located along the corridor.”