NTSB is telling SEPTA to pull the Silverliner IVs from service until they can nail down the root cause of the increased fire risk and retrofit mitigations Also, saying to fast track replacements, but we know how that's been going recently www.ntsb.gov/news/press-r...

Cities need to bring back installing (and actually operating!) old school fountains in parks, like this one in Washington Square.

Don’t underestimate old postcards.

For smaller construction firms, a lot of the added costs of prevailing-wage labor standards comes not from the increases in wages, but from the compliance overhead of having to deal with rules like this:

I live in a suburb where nearly all transit (all but rush-hour-only commuter rail) is accessible, but many trips would be highly inconvenient or require long walks if by transit. The vast majority of paratransit trips replace driving, not transit. Paratransit should be paid for by highway agencies.

The concept of a car-free street is so inconceivable to most Americans they often don't even realize when they're strolling down one. This promenade by Penn Station is really just W 33rd Street. No reason why cities can't pedestrianize plenty of other right-of-ways.

Do I have any friends who are Phillies fans in NYC interested in watching the first playoff game on Saturday?

We desperately need the new trolleys from the SEPTA Trolley Modernization Project. Using the capital budget to fix an operating deficit could mean SEPTA can't afford to buy new trolleys, delaying the project and inevitably making service even worse. We're eating the corn seed.

If autonomous cars lead to a significant decline in personal automobile ownership in cities (and I'm pretty skeptical) Philadelphia's narrow streets are really going to be the ideal streetscape for residential blocks. Wide enough for occasional pick-up/drop-off, but no parking.

I understand the River Line in New Jersey only exists because the existing tracks became available for passenger rail (at least when it's not reserved for freight) but it really is a bit of a bummer how many of the rail transit lines that opened up this century run at-grade in urban neighborhoods.

Uhh, slope on the ramp in front of the elevator to one of the platforms at 34 St-Penn Station is definitely too steep to be ADA compliant, right? I know retrofitting accessibility infrastructure at old stations isn't easy, but I wonder how often (if ever?) this is an impediment.

Free transit for kids (who almost by definition have no income) is a much more efficient use of supplemental fare subsidies in real cities than totally eliminating fares.

It was ultimately good for Pawnee that Leslie Knope was recalled because she was a NIMBY.

It's cool when local governments and non-profits will spend real dollars to build dedicated pedestrian & cycling infrastructure in parks (like this one in Wissahickon Valley Park in Northwest Philadelphia). But why can't we get dedicated walkways outside of recreational trails?

In 1938, Robert Moses wanted to turn the abandoned commuter tail right-of-way now used by the 5 train above 174th St. into a trucks-only toll highway. Kind of crazy how despite how carved up our American cities are from highways, it often came close to being much worse!

I don't think anyone from Philadelphia would be shocked to learn Chestnut Hill has some of the most impressive Little Free Libraries.

As auto-centric Compton Boulevard east of Willowbrook was back in 1953, it's much worse now: surface parking lots dominate both sides of the street. There's a light rail station only 500 feet away, but with suburban style land-use like this ridership is unsurprisingly pretty meager.

Almost overnight we could make many of the historic streets in our legacy cities vastly more charming by prohibiting on-street parking. Until we do that I'm going to keep rolling my eyes at historic district design requirements or architectural review boards for new buildings.

I can't believe SEPTA is planning to spend nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars on 200 new cars for Market Frankford Line without any plan to automate the system's highest ridership route. And frankly shame on the Feds for cutting a HUGE check without demanding better.

I understand why SEPTA charges more for Regional Rail than trips on other modes (and all those extra conductors still requires a much higher per trip subsidy). But for short trips within the city fare policy should be encouraging rail trips over buses, not the opposite.

Nothing will remind you how much background noise cars and trucks make in our cities than not being able to identify the birds chirping with the Merlin app because the constant roar of motor vehicles is overwhelming. You can literally see the noise pollution.

Philadelphia: we're the most walkable American city! Also Philadelphia:

We REALLY need to stop putting URLs on signs and murals, because so many of them (like this one) end up dead within a few years.

It's a huge win to see real-time bus stops on SEPTA screens, but what's with the pervasive gambling ads? SEPTA bans tobacco ads for public health reasons, and predatory online gambling is arguably just as destructive to our communities. Lets stop running these ads too.

If the conductors on the subway actually walked up and down the train enforcing the MTA's Rules of Conduct I think a second crew member might be justifiable. But TWU knows the politicians are fine with the current feather-bedding (and even support mandating more fake jobs) so nothing will improve 😥

The gap between how charming residential streets in South Philly could be and current reality is enormous. But it's inconceivable the city ever getting rid of the on-street parking, so these blocks will continue to look pretty ugly indefinitely. But also hot as hell with a total lack of any shade.

Lol, the view out the train at the Stamford train station is a parking garage and vacant lot. What are we even doing here 🥴

Philadelphia's skyline from Camden is so much better than it has any right to be considering the City de facto prohibited tall buildings for much of the 20th century.

Just saw JVP Philly and allies protested the unveiling of a new mural at the Philadelphia Holocaust memorial today 😡 Them referring to "the old Testament" in one of their posts did make me laugh though. They can't find ONE Jew who occasionally goes to synougoue to review their posts?!

Can you believe they used to allow automobiles on what's now Forbidden Path?! It turns out cities like Philadelphia can just prohibit motor vehicles from right-of-ways to create stress-free infrastructure for pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians.

SEPTA Regional Rail conductors aren't even trying to stop riders from blasting phone videos without headphones anymore, huh? Higher fares & infrequent service was bad enough, but RIP to the calmer transit trips. Used to be better than the rest of SEPTA, but I guess no more 😥

Changed my plans today because my emotional resilience just isn't up to riding SEPTA's Broad Street Line a few times and dealing with the inevitable anti-social behavior. Unchecked disorder makes urban living so tiring.

One reason why so many Americans falsely believe it was the evil car companies that singlehandedly killed the streetcars in our cities after WWII is they don't realize how early buses were already operating in urban neighborhoods. New York had double-decker gasoline powered buses by 1907!

In the US, even a “cheap” transit bus costs 2-3x more than in Asia or Europe -- and one agency may pay twice as much as another for nearly identical vehicles. In Bloomberg, I explored a ripe opportunity to improve transportation by applying Abundance-coded, supply-side reforms. 🧵

It seems like every five years we get left policy wonks who think repealing Faircloth will create a social housing utopia, and I'm sorry to report that's just not the case. We should get rid of it bc artificial barriers to more homes is bad, but it's not a real barrier to social/public housing.

Many lefties in NYC are hoping Mamdani will follow the example of La Guardia, but how many of them know the former mayor was largely responsible for killing the streetcars in NYC?

Sometimes there are so many riders blasting their cellphones without headphones on the SEPTA train that it creates such a bland cacophony it actually becomes easier to ignore:

The two Waymos that just drove by SEPTA's NRG Station at the end of the BSL line both had someone sitting in the driver's seat. But maybe more importantly look at how unfriendly Pattinson Avenue is for pedestrians, right next to the subway. And Broad Street is even worse!

The view of Center City is amazing from the Phillies stadium (just ignore the surface parking, giant garage, and highway in the foreground 🤫)

It just doesn't get better than a trolley line down an urban canyon.

Plenty of suburbanites outside Philadelphia are nominally supportive of transit, but you're not going to build much of a dedicated political constituency with hourly trains that randomly get cancelled because SEPTA can't keep head count high enough for their over-staffed trains.

August was another anemic month for residential permitting in Philadelphia, with only 189 units. The deterioration of the economy under Trump obviously isn't helping, but if Mayor Parker is serious about achieving her housing production goals she's going to have to get more aggressive.

The Fairmount Water Works has some amazing views of the Philadelphia Art Museum and the Center City skyline. Unfortunately the constant roar of I-76 across the Schuylkill River means the park is nowhere near as tranquil as it could be.

So cool you used to just be able to build a 6 story hotel in a residential neighborhood back in the day, like the Bienville Hotel in Mobile, Alabama circa 1901. No way would this be allowed by zoning in most American cities nowadays. Unfortunately the corner is now just a bland 2 story bank 😢

Love how the new skyscrapers in Center City give the Philadelphia skyline a cool Blade Runner vibe. Hate that we only saw this cool view because the first couple of entrances to the train station were already locked up or used as a de facto homeless encampment.

Defenders of SEPTA'S current labor-intensive operating model for Regional Rail trains claim all the conductors are required to operate the swing doors. But anyone who's taken a late night train notices conductors just leave one set of stairs up & one down so they don't have to work all the cars.

The closing of Center City Iron Hill Brewery location is another devastating blow for already barren Market East. Can't believe we had a multi-year fight about how horrible new development would be for the neighborhood, and now it's turning into a ghost town. www.inquirer.com/food/restaur...

I appreciate how PATCO updated their station maps with SEPTA's new METRO branding (e.g. Broad Street subway is now the B1, B2, and B3) but decided there was no need to call the MFL line "L1" (despite that being the official name) because there's only one elevated MFL line. 🤣They're not wrong🤣

I unironically think Hudson Yards is cool as hell. Manhattan shouldn't be turned into a museum.

I hope Amtrak cracks down on illicit behavior at the 30th Street Station in Philadelphia next. Passengers should be able to use the bathroom in peace. That's not currently the case. Amtrak Police Arrests Surge at Penn Bathroom Cruising Spot www.thecity.nyc/2025/09/24/a...