Yes. Tasker Street will remain a public thoroughfare, as it is today. It does not go all the way to the river. It becomes private back --
Yeah, back behind Wal-Mart. 337 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 The street -- we're widening the street to facilitate movement of both cars and trucks. It certainly will remain the truck access for Wal-Mart and Home Depot. It will be our truck access, and it will also be the path that the buses take when they're leaving this complex of our site and Pier 70.
There will be -- stop me if I'm wrong here, Jeff. There's two in and there's two out.
So presently, there's two lanes one, right? One in and out now?
I don't want to get into the traffic stuff; I know we're going to do that in March, but I just... 338 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08
At Dickinson, let me start there. Entering traffic will be in one left-turn lane --
-- coming southbound on Columbus Boulevard. It will turn in. It will face two lanes. The left-most lane will go up to the port cochere for the valet. The right-most lane will go into the garage. Just south of Dickinson, the left-turn lane begins that crosses over the tracks to be contra-flow on the northbound lanes of Columbus Boulevard. It will operate as a standard left-turn lane, and then that lane will turn into the two receiving lanes on Tasker Street. In Tasker Street, there is another left-turn lane that carries that traffic into the garage, and that takes care of the entering traffic. 339 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 Exiting traffic will come out on Tasker Street, turn right; and if it wants to go south on Columbus Boulevard, it turns right, follows along the frontage of the garage, and this is the English T that Mark was describing earlier.
It then makes a left turn, an almost 180-degree turn, at Dickinson. So it's turning out as the Dickinson traffic is turning in. We're taking advantage of concurrent traffic phases. It goes south. And then if that traffic wants to turn right to go into South Philadelphia, it can. If it wants to go straight south to I-95 or beyond, it can. Right-turning traffic to Columbus Boulevard simply makes a conventional right turn to go northbound on Columbus Boulevard. There is an exit also at 340 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 Dickinson Street coming out of the garage. It's a double right, and traffic is restricted to only going north on Columbus Boulevard. Is that the answer to the question?
Yeah, I think so. The Dickinson Street, which I do and, I'm sure, most -- a lot of people do. I know we all try to make that left and wait for the southbound traffic on Columbus Boulevard to stop before we can cross over to get to Water Street.
So that condition -- there will be a stop lighting there?
All right. I'll save the other questions for the 341 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 traffic study.
Thank you, Madam President. I just was -- I wasn't sure if I was jumping ahead, but I understand this is part of the whole thing. The Special Services District question, have you had any -- I know there hasn't been a discussion because of -- well, we know why. Has -- do you have any Special Services District plan in mind?
Councilman, we have signed with the City, albeit the former administration, a development agreement, and we will hear about that in later testimonies.
But one of the 342 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 requirements is that we fund ourselves a million dollars a year to a Special Services District. We've also agreed to fund $50,000 so that the participants could hire a lawyer and create a 501(c)(3). So that commitment is already there. We were hopeful that perhaps through these hearings, we would identify community leaders who would not necessarily agree with us that they want this site but who would take the position that if either Council or the City or the Supreme Court dictates that the site will take place, that we will have a workable operation, because ultimately, we want to live together and prosper together. So we are ready to sit down with any responsible group that has connection to the community to talk about the mechanics of it. We're the funding the agency; we just want to know who to turn the 343 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 money over to? It's a million dollars a year, and that's something that we think will make the situation better. We also, as you'll hear, in this development agreement, have pledged other monies to the City for a variety of other infrastructural improvements, extra police, extra everything. So when we get to that testimony, I think you'll be very pleased to see how much has been put on the table.
Just one question on it. Have you attempted to talk to the community groups about it?
We have, and part of the problem has been that all discussions were conditioned upon us agreeing up front to a lot of things that were non-starters. What we wanted to do was just sit down and say, Look, we'll agree to disagree, but in the event we do have 344 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 siting of this locations, these will be the rules that will govern for everyone's benefit. Apparently, people feel that that would be some concession. As lawyers and as, obviously, people in government, you know that sometimes you have to negotiate at the same time that you're fighting, because ultimately, you may wake up one day and find that the world isn't as you believe it to be. But we have not been able to, in effect, sit on the other side of the table. The City of Philadelphia and its various agencies have taken that role because there was not a community piece for us, but we would welcome the opportunity to sit down in private in large groups and small groups, because my experience, and I'm sure yours is, as you sit down and talk to people, you typically will find some wisdom in what they say, and 345 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 an exchange of ideas will lead to an ultimate compromise, which is what we hope will happen.
And I guess the basic non-starter is that they just don't want you there.
And we thank you for listening today. This was a great opportunity for us to hopefully start the presentation and answer questions that you have regarding the entire project.
Thank you very much. Is there anyone else who would like to testify? (No response.)
Seeing no one, this committee stand in recess until March the 10th at 10 a.m. 346 BILLS 080027, 28 - RULES - 2/25/08 Thank you all very much. You have been extremely patient. Thank you.
Thanks. (Proceedings end at 3:40 p.m.) * * * 347 C E R T I F I C A T E I HEREBY CERTIFY that the proceedings of the City of Philadelphia Council Committee on Rules are contained fully and accurately in the stenographic notes taken by me on Monday, February 25, 2008, and that this is a true and correct statement of same. ________________________________ JOSEPHINE CARDILLO Registered Professional Reporter (The foregoing certification of this transcript does not apply to any reproduction of the same by any means, unless under the direct control and/or supervision of the certifying reporter.)