COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC UTILITIES Remote location using Microsoft® Teams Wednesday, October 11, 2023 1:00 p.m. PRESENT: COUNCILMAN KENYATTA JOHNSON, CHAIR COUNCILMAN MARK SQUILLA, VICE-CHAIR COUNCILWOMAN KENDRA BROOKS COUNCILMAN CURTIS JONES, JR. COUNCILMAN ANTHONY PHILLIPS
Good afternoon, everyone. Today is Wednesday, October 11, 2023. I understand that the state law currently requires that the following announcement be made at the beginning of every remote public hearing as follows: Due to the current public health emergency, City Council Committees are currently meeting remotely. We are using Microsoft Teams to make these remote hearings possible. Instructions for how the public may view and offer public testimony at public hearings of Council Committees are included in the public hearing notices that are published in the Daily News, Inquirer and Legal Intelligencer prior to the hearings and can also be found on PHLCouncil.com. Will the Clerk please call the roll to take attendance. Members that are in attendance will please indicate that they are present when their names are called. Also, please say a few brief words when responding so that your image will be displayed on screen when you speak. Will the Clerk please call the roll.
Good afternoon, Chairman. Good afternoon, colleagues. I am present.
Good afternoon, Chairman and colleagues. I'm present.
Good afternoon, Chairman and colleagues. Good morning -- or afternoon.
Good afternoon -- good afternoon, viewing public. Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and colleagues. I'm present.
Thank you. A quorum of the Committee is present and this hearing is now called to order. This is the public hearing of the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities regarding Resolution 230533. Will the Clerk please read the title of the resolution.
Resolution 230533, a resolution authorizing the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities to hold public hearings to examine the impacts of and funding alternatives for an extension of the existing Broad Street Subway Line into the underserved Northeast along the Roosevelt Boulevard.
Before we begin to hear testimony from the witnesses we have for today, everyone who has been invited to the meeting to testify should be aware that this public hearing is being recorded. Because the hearing is public, participants and viewers have no 12 reasonable expectation of privacy. By continuing to be in the meeting, you are consenting to being recorded. Additionally, prior to recognizing Members for the questions or comments they have for witnesses, I will note for the record at this time that they will use the chat feature available in Microsoft Teams to allow Members to signify that they wish to be recognized. In order to comply with the Sunshine Act, the chat feature must only be used for this purpose. At this time, I want to acknowledge Councilmember Mike Driscoll for remarks as the lead sponsor of the bill.
Thank you, members of the Committee. And thank you, Chairman Johnson, for convening this meeting. This project is a referendum on our City and on our Commonwealth. Is this a place that cowers in the face of challenging opportunities or is this a place that sees the future coming and charges at it at full speed? As anyone who has come to my office would know, I greatly admire President John F. Kennedy. Just over 61 years ago, JFK proclaimed, We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things not because they are easy, but because they are hard. For many, especially our City's most vulnerable, going to and from the Northeast is just as hard as it is going to the moon. And I challenge this Council, this Administration and the next, our state and federal partners, PennDOT, SEPTA to shoot for the moon. I challenge us to lift thousands out of a transit desert and I challenge us to connect nearly a half million people to our region's economic and job core. I challenge us to address the housing supply crisis by building thousands of units directly along this new rapid transit corridor for the working-class residents of our City. I challenge us to directly create thousands of family-sustaining union jobs and induce a quarter century of private sector investment worth billions of dollars. We choose to build this subway in this decade and uplift hundreds of thousands of our neighbors, not because it is easy but because it is hard, because our City and its residents deserve world-class infrastructure because we believe and know that this is a world-class city. The days of handwringing and pessimistic perspectives are behind us. Our City must chart a new path forward. No project will shift our paradigm more than the Roosevelt Boulevard subway. If this project is to happen, all stakeholders must come together and shoot for the moon because this train is leaving the station. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you. Any other comments from members of the Committee? I just want to say --
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I just want to applaud Member Driscoll. And as we look to the future of this City, one of the things over time I've noticed is that we tend to think small. This project is thinking big and the connectivity that will come from it will shape how workers move back and forth through a major portion of Philadelphia. So I just wanted to say that you challenged City Council and we accept.
Thank you, Councilman Jones. Any other comments from members of the Committee? (No response.)
I just want to take a moment also to acknowledge the inspiring and most importantly empowering remarks from Councilman Driscoll. We talk about equity when it comes to transportation. This is a project that will support everyone irregardless of their neighborhood, checkbook, pocketbook and/or their zip code. This is an opportunity for us to come together as a city and make sure there's equitable resources and support as it relates to the transportation for all members and residents and citizens here in this great City of Philadelphia. So thank you for stepping up and making sure your residents and your constituents and Northeast Philadelphia issues and priorities are heard loud and clear when it comes to building a new transportation system along the Roosevelt Boulevard to the Northeast. So thank you very much, my friend, and you keep up the good work.
With that being said, will the Clerk please call the first panel.
Good afternoon, Councilman Johnson, Councilman Driscoll and members of the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities. My name is Jennifer Dougherty, and I'm the Manager of Long Range Planning at SEPTA. SEPTA service is the backbone, mobility, economic growth, safety and transit-oriented community development in Southeastern Pennsylvania. And I appreciate the opportunity to speak about the future of transit and the impacts and alternatives related to extending the Broad Street Line along Roosevelt Boulevard. SEPTA is thankful for City Council's leadership and funding support for our highest priority initiatives, including your continued advocacy surrounding the impending $240 million fiscal cliff and local funding options needed to fund and needed to support large scale projects of regional significance such as those proposed for the Roosevelt Boulevard. SEPTA Board Chairman Pat Deon and CEO Leslie Richards are grateful for your proactive engagement with the General Assembly and the Governor. More than ever the health and prosperity of our region are tied to the strength and success of SEPTA. As SEPTA continues working to rebuild ridership coming out of the pandemic, we welcome any opportunity to advance initiatives that will put more people on SEPTA and explore opportunities to expand service for our (inaudible). This hearing is an important next step in the initial assessment of the Broad Street Line extension concept, and SEPTA looks forward to being an integral partner in productive analysis of transfer options and working with stakeholders to advance solutions. Roosevelt Boulevard is a critical transit corridor today. Carrying multiple SEPTA bus routes and serving thousands of customera, SEPTA is proud to be an original stakeholder and funder of the Roosevelt Boulevard Route for Change plan, and SEPTA is excited to partner with PennDOT, the City of Philadelphia, Bucks County and other key stakeholders on planning, design and implementation of improvement projects along the Boulevard. The Route for Change initiative was awarded $78 million in federal funding that will enable a series of the first of its kind interventions in Philadelphia that will strengthen transit along the Boulevard, including establishment of business access or transit BAT lanes, simplified and safer intersections and transit priority. These improvements will enhance SEPTA investments such as Boulevard Direct bus service, improved bus stops and the currently under-construction Wissahickon Transportation Center. More ambitious plans to transform Roosevelt Boulevard are part of the current PennDOT Route for Change alternative refinement and short-term improvement projects. I see that there's a question.
Thank you. And again, with all of this infrastructure money coming from the federal government, the idea of thinking big is truly appropriate. A couple of questions: If we do this route, how many stops are you proposing?
Would you like for me to finish my testimony and then I can begin to answer questions or --
Yes. I asked you did you finish. I didn't know you -- I thought you said --
This 2040 alternative process provides a platform for how the Boulevard can be reimagined by knitting communities together, providing dedicated space for transit and improving safety and mobility for everyone. We understand that PennDOT is providing a status update to the Committee that will include an overview and key milestone dates, and they are working to finalize a date and location for the next public meeting as a part of their study. SEPTA is providing data, guidance, staffing and technical assistance on the project, and we are excited to see what the information and analysis reveal. It's heartening to see the enthusiasm for improved transit on Roosevelt Boulevard and the renewed interest in a Broad Street Line extension, but funding challenges loom large over every service and planning decision SEPTA considers, including large scale projects such as those proposed for Roosevelt Boulevard. SEPTA is in the final year of its one-time federal COVID-relief funding. And the Authority is preparing for an operating fiscal cliff that could drastically limit the service SEPTA is able to provide. Next July SEPTA faces annual recurring budget deficits of more than $240 million that will require some combination of severe service cuts, significant fare increases and deferred state of good repair projects, unless sustainable operating funding can be secured to maintain SEPTA's vital service. Similarly, recent experience highlights how SEPTA's capital budget as currently constituted and funded does not have the flexibility to support major expansion or capacity enhancement projects, while also maintaining our vehicle and infrastructure state of good repair commitments. SEPTA's strategic plan identified a program of initiatives and projects of regional significance that align with our vision for an intuitive, seamless transit network. SEPTA is currently advancing an array of initiatives, including trolley modernization, bus revolution and reimagining regional rail. Along with efforts to address a 5.1 billion vehicle and infrastructure state of good repair backlog, fulfill our commitment to make the Broad Street and Market-Frankford Lines fully accessible and advance our Zero Emission Bus program, the bulk of SEPTA's capital program is dedicated to imperatives, not choices. With a capital budget that is already the lowest among peer agencies, SEPTA must be careful to ensure that new worthwhile projects do not supplant current initiatives that are integral to SEPTA's long- range plan and the City's transit plan. Fully realizing Route for Change, including whatever transit mode is chosen as a part of the selected alternative like a subway, will take more than a one-time funding. As a city and region, we must make significant progress on funding now to ensure that a project like an extension of the Broad Street Line has local and state funding to compete for critical federal investment. SEPTA is grateful to Representatives Hohenstein and Waxman for introducing local funding options, legislation and Transportation Committee Chairman Neilson for his leadership, and SEPTA is working to build support for this critical funding tool. Thank you for holding this hearing and providing a venue for our partners and our stakeholders to share their knowledge and enthusiasm for transit. I look forward to answering your questions and hearing from the other panelists. Thank you.
Thank you, Jennifer. I have a question on the lines of what Councilman Curtis Jones asked regarding the cost, and you gave a very, very detailed summary of some of the fiscal challenges that you are facing right now to kind of maintain your current capital projects. What is the signifi -- what is the dollar amount that if the legislation passes on the state level, which I'm pretty confident that it will under the leadership of Chairman Neilson also working in partnership with the Philadelphia Delegation Chair Morgan Cephas and the Chairperson of Appropriations who I spoke to directly about this issue, actually I spoke to all three of them about this issue, what's the actual dollar amount that the legislation will produce for SEPTA as we embark upon this upcoming fiscal cliff?
Approximately $9 million for our operating fiscal cliff. So our need is 240 million. This legislation as proposed is 190 million.
Okay. Thank you very much. Any other questions and comments from members of the Committee?
I would like -- sorry. I just wanted to answer Councilman Jones's question from earlier. My apologies.
Go ahead. I'm sorry. Go ahead. Councilman Jones, you want to reiterate your question?
Yes, please. Based on the current configuration of that subway, and I'm assuming it's going to go at least to Bucks County, how many stops would be proposed in that continued construction?
Based upon the Route for Change work that we collaborated with previously, we were looking at stations over 12 miles, and that includes stations in Bucks County. What are the estimated amounts of ridership that could be picked up, including that route?
That's a great 7 question. That's something that we 8 really are working with PennDOT 9 currently on in terms of modeling 10 with the alternative study in terms 11 of what we think the overall 12 ridership could be.
Have there been cost comparisons to look at light rail versus the subway continual construction?
No, that is also part of the current study with PennDOT. Don't have those numbers quite yet.
Last question: Would -- what do you think the impact on congestion on the Boulevard would be by the completion of this subway?
Another excellent question. I think this is one of the things that we worked really closely with PennDOT and the City of Philadelphia and Bucks County previously, is that whatever intervention or whatever mode gets chosen or selected for Roosevelt Boulevard in terms of public transportation, there'd be a major configuration of Roosevelt Boulevard in terms of how the lanes would work, how much carrying capacity there would be for personal vehicles and trucks. And those things need to be weighed against each other. I think the bigger the intervention is in terms of mass transit, how much dedicated right-of- way we're given, the frequency of service and the carrying capacity of that service all impacts how many people we can take on board mass transit and really do a mode shift from people needing to rely upon a personal vehicle to get around. So that is definitely something that we're going to be working closely with PennDOT on, modeling. It could be a very significant impact, but it is something we need to work closely with and see what people are comfortable with in terms of really reimagining Roosevelt Boulevard in terms of how many lanes, how they're configured and what mode gets chosen.
And finally, what I would ask is to look at how the impact of that might deal with the dangerous roadway that we face. It's one of the most dangerous roads in the City of Philadelphia. So understanding how by adding the subway cars, how that might reduce some of the hazards riding up and down Roosevelt Boulevard. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
You're welcome. Any other questions or comments from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Hearing none, would the Clerk please call the next panel please.
-- Street. How are you? SENATOR STREET: I'm well, Councilman, Members. Appreciate the opportunity to present. How are you all doing today?
We're doing fantastic. If you could just state your name for the record and you can begin your testimony. SENATOR STREET: So I'm State Senator Sharif, S-h-a-r-i-f as in Frank Street, S-t-r-e-e-t. I represent the 3rd Senatorial District in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania which begins in the heart of North Philadelphia and runs up to the County line along Broad Street. And my District runs east, which would include significant portions of the Roosevelt Boulevard at Broad Street. And the reason that's particularly significant for me is much of the construction, at least the portion from Broad Street probably all the way out to about 8th Street along the Boulevard, would be in my District, and then I represent at least one side of all of the North Broad corridor where the Broad Street sub would run from Fern Rock all the way down to Spring Garden Street Station. Look, I think this is a great idea for a host of reasons. First and foremost, it would improve in the safe -- it'll improve safety and functionality of our mass transit system by allowing people to take the subway or light rail -- and by the way, I'm agnostic on the issue of whether it's light rail or subway cars. I do think rail service is needed. It would allow folks to take rail service to Broad Street and then connect at Broad Street and get into Center City. Doing that would significantly reduce -- it would have the potential to significantly reduce the number of cars coming off the Boulevard on the North Broad Street, where if anyone drives there, you know there's congestion built up right there and usually during rush hour can go from Hunting Park all the way down to City Hall at some point, at least down to Vine Street. And so, I think that is a positive. Reducing that congestion would reduce the amount of time that cars are idling, which would reduce -- which would improve efficiencies for everyone, would also make even those cars that are still driving, if they can get to their destination faster with less idling, it would reduce the carbon footprint of those cars traveling and it would improve the quality of life, people, because it would reduce their commute, whether you're on the rail or on the car. Additionally, we have to look at the possibility there will be people doing what we often call reverse commuting, which are people who live in North Philadelphia and in other parts of the City where they're particularly low income that might want to go to retail jobs out in Bucks County or the Greater Northeast. Right now if you live in North Philadelphia or West Philadelphia or South Philadelphia and you want to get to the Greater Northeast, if you're traveling by car, it's an inordinate amount of time to get to the Neshaminy Mall or the Franklin or the -- well, I guess we call it Philadelphia Mills Mall. For any of those places where there are lots of retail jobs, those retail jobs could be really important to low-income families and could change lives but may not be practical if you have, you know, a commute that could be in excess of an hour because you don't have access to a car. And I think the last studies that I saw roughly 35 percent of the population in Philadelphia are without vehicles, many of those people living in rowhouses along Broad Street where it is ordinarily unnecessary. So I think it would therefore improve the economies, both Philadelphia and Bucks County. Finally, it would help move us into a more modern era and it can continue to expand what is really one of the finest systems for rail. And I will say, look, there's been a lot of talk about how we improve the transportation, how we get people out of cars. And I without, you know, casting shade on people who want to ride bicycles, and I love riding bikes as a recreational rider, I think that the culture of Philadelphia is much more suited to get masses of people to ride rail than it is to use bikes for transportation.
And so, I think making this kind of investment would get people off -- and would achieve goals that we've often talked about in terms of getting people off of, you know, out of cars and reducing our carbon footprint. It would improve the ability for people who are traveling from suburban areas or from far parts of the City in the Northeast to Center City who choose to continue to use cars, because there would be less congestion on the road, and it would allow people who might want to commute the other way who are low income that are more likely to be seeking retail jobs out in the Far Northeast or in Lower Bucks. For all those reasons, I think this makes a lot of sense. And then finally, it is not lost upon me that there would be a significant number of construction jobs involved in this. And while that's not why we do this, these public works projects invariably have a positive impact on the economy. Construction workers are going to eat at restaurants. They're going to come from regular families and they will make a significant contribution. So I will say that I would support allocations from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I'd be willing to advocate to both Senate and House leadership as well as the Governor to have the Commonwealth play a role in working with the City to secure funding for this project. I want to thank Councilman Driscoll for his leadership in this regard.
Thank you very much, Senator. Before I open it up to members of the Committee, I have a question. For this upcoming budget, what's the budget surplus that's projected? SENATOR STREET: The current budget surplus is projected at $8 billion in the Commonwealth, with $6 billion in the Rainy Day Fund for a total of roughly $14 billion in unallocated funds, at least 3 billion of that is structural; meaning that we expect that to be recurring revenues from multiple cycles. So the surplus is likely to grow unless we increase our spend.
Good. I just wanted to get an idea. The reason why I asked the question, Jennifer Dougherty talked about, I think she said the legislation that's flowing right now if passed would produce 190 million, and the overall budget is 200-plus million. And so, I just wanted to get an idea of that number in the grand scheme of the overall budget that's on the state level that could be supportive in SEPTA efforts as we run out of the support that they have -- SENATOR STREET: Yeah. Councilman, to that point, if I can add, look, there is a bill that came out of the House already, a tax code bill that I think increased dedicated funding for mass transit by about 40 percent. That bill successfully came out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and I anticipate that those provisions will be enacted in the law.
Good. Thank you very much, Senator. Any questions, comments from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Okay. Hearing none as always good to see you, Senator Sharif Street. SENATOR STREET: Good to see you, Councilman.
You too. Will the Clerk please call the next panel, please.
Next to speak we have Representative Joe Hohenstein, Representative Jared Solomon, Representative Patrick Gallagher, Representative Anthony Bellmon, Representative Ben Waxman and Representative Tarik Khan.
Thank you. I'm going to start with my representative, part of the 2nd Councilmanic District, Ben Waxman, can you start us off. But welcome to the Council Hearing, my State colleagues on the state level. Good to see everybody. Ben, just state your name for the record and please begin your testimony. STATE REPRESENTATIVE WAXMAN: Yes. Thank you so much, Councilman. And I am proud that my Councilman is the one who is leading this hearing. We get excellent representation in our District at the Council level. It is great to be here with so many advocates as well as elected officials who have been really working on this issue for a long time. There are others on this call who have been working longer than me. And so, I'll turn it over to them in a moment. But I would say the number one thing for me as a State Representative who represents primarily downtown as well as communities that are directly adjacent to downtown or in Center City, we don't just see this as a subway line that will help those in the Northeast. We see it very much as part of Center City's recovery and coming back from COVID, because we believe it will make it much easier for people from the Northeast all the way to Bucks County to come into Center City and use our retail outlets, restaurants, all of those things. So this is -- and the same in terms of Center City residents taking advantage of all the things that are available in the Northeast, including restaurants and cultural institutions that you really, really can't find in Center City. So this is something that I really strongly believe will help everyone. It will help every part of Philadelphia that is touched by this. It will benefit every neighborhood. That includes Center City and every other neighborhood that will be touched by this project. And so, with that I will turn it back to you, Councilman, for my colleagues.
Thank you very much. Representative Jared Solomon, please state your name for the record and begin your testimony please. STATE REPRESENTATIVE SOLOMON: How are you doing, Chairman? Jared Solomon, J-a-r-e-d, S-o-l-o-m-a-n, 202nd Legislative District. It's good to be with you, Chair, and good to be with you, Councilmembers. So this is an opportunity -- and I appreciate Councilman Driscoll's leadership on this issue. This is an opportunity for us in Philadelphia to do something big, bold and transformational. Big, bold and transformational, those are not words just reserved for New York and LA and other cities. Those are words that we can embrace. And when you think of big, bold and transformational, the last time that the type of transformational project has happened in Northeast Philadelphia is over five decades. We had the Roosevelt Boulevard in 1902. We had the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge in 1929 and the Market-Frankford El was the last one, and that was in 1968. We can change that by embracing this effort. And as the Councilman pointed out and others have pointed out, this would mean union jobs for a generation, a positive environmental impact that we have never seen before in our City, a public works project up and down the Boulevard from the Bucks County Line all the way into Center City that we have never seen, and inclusive development that uplifts people, moves people from poverty to middle- income jobs that would be transformational for many in our region. It's also an opportunity for us to all work together, local, state and federal. When was the last time that we've gotten on a call like this where everyone agrees? I don't think anyone's opposed to this project, so let's all work together and get something big, bold and transformational done for our City and region. Thank you, Chair.
Thank you very much. Little Bro, Representative Anthony Bellmon, please state your name for the record and begin your testimony. STATE REPRESENTATIVE BELLMON: Thank you, Chairman. I appreciate the opportunity to come and present to you guys today. My name is Anthony Bellmon. I'm the State Representative for the 203rd Legislative District, which is Burholme, Lawncrest, Lawndale, Oxford Circle, Olney and Castor Gardens all in Lower Northeast Philadelphia. When I'm walking around and I'm talking to my constituents, a lot of people say that the Northeast is disconnected from the rest of the City and they would love to be able to get from the Northeast to Center City a lot easier, a lot quicker and a lot cheaper. And I think that what we're talking about here today with the extension of the Broad Street Line, all of those things are going to be able to help my constituents. Currently I sit both on the Commerce Committee and the Transportation Committee in the Pennsylvania House. And the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway proposal really stood out to me because of the benefits that it could have for my District and for Northeast Philadelphia. Jared -- Rep. Solomon already knows that we have some of the best restaurants in the City, and I think the rest of Philadelphia should find out how great our restaurants actually are. And one way to do that would be to make sure that it's easier to get to our restaurants. Another reason is that the current average commuting time for workers in my District is 38 minutes, and that's percent above the state 6 average, and a subway would help cut 7 down that commuter time for workers 8 in my District. This project is 9 realistic. I think this project is 10 attainable. But in order for us to 11 make it happen, we really do need all 12 hands on deck. And this is working 13 on the City, state and the federal 14 level. Ever since I've learned about this project, I've always heard that there's always been sort of an idea, right, this is a 100-year-old idea that has just never happened because the political will for it just hasn't been there. I think the political will for it is there now. I think with the infrastructure dollars from the federal government we can actually see it come to pass. And I hope that I will do everything in my power from this -- (Background interruption.)
Excuse me one second. Excuse me. Can everybody put their phone or their computer on mute please? Thank you. Representative Anthony Bellmon, please finish your testimony. STATE REPRESENTATIVE BELLMON: No problem. I'll just do everything within my power from this seat in order to make it happen. And thank you, Chairman, thank you to members of the Committee and thank you to Councilman Driscoll for his leadership on this as well.
Thank you very much, Representative Bellmon. And I was just up in the Northeast at a restaurant called Michelangelo and the food was great. I do understand that it did take me literally an hour to come from South Philly along 95, like literally an hour to get there, right. And so, I believe from a transportation, an equitable transportation standpoint this would be great for the Northeast. But I do want to testify that the food at Michelangelo's was great, the pizza was outstanding and I had a real, real good time. So I'll be back actually later on this week, so keep up the good work. Next, my good friend Joe Hohenstein. Go ahead, state your name for the record please -- STATE REPRESENTATIVE HOHENSTEIN: Thank you, Councilmember --
-- and begin -- STATE REPRESENTATIVE HOHENSTEIN: Yep. Joseph Hohenstein. I'm the State Representative for House District 177, and I'm a lifetime SEPTA rider mostly on the Frankford El. And we all know you can't get to heaven from there, but you can get to Frankford. I just want to make sure this body understands what we need to do in Harrisburg is to convince Harrisburg that this isn't just good for Philly, it's good for the rest of the state as well. Now, SEPTA does a decent job of presenting what the facts and figures are, the contracts that they have and the way that a project like this will impact not just Philadelphia and the surrounding counties, but also the state as a whole. And I think any message that City Council sends to Harrisburg with a resolution or with an ordinance or whatever it is you guys are going to do, the message to us needs to be this is going to help the entire Commonwealth because we know that mass transit does do that. Even if we're only talking about increasing the ability for people to get to work and work in jobs that are family-sustaining and create revenue for the state, that revenue goes back to the state. And the tradition is that Philadelphia puts more in tax revenue than it gets back out, and that can be and should be a real important piece of the message. I think one of the other things a number of my colleagues have already talked about which is really key is the unity that we have around these issues. You are talking with no fewer than six of us today I think or five or six of us today, and that's just the folks who got on this hearing from the House of Representatives. And I know the Senate is really unified with this from our Delegation's standpoint. And what we need to do, and I want to make sure there's a distinction, the bill that we passed just last week for the tax code is related to SEPTA's operational funding. We need bills like the one that Rep. Waxman has proposed, that I've proposed, there are a couple of other ideas as well, to make sure there's additional local funding for the capital projects that the subway really is sort of my way of thinking the crown jewel of all of the different capital projects that SEPTA's considering. But we need to be able to do that. And in order to do that, having a good strong backing coming from the City is going to give us that impetus to be able to have our colleagues in Harrisburg both recognize the value of mass transit in Philadelphia for the entire Commonwealth and also give us the local tools to be able to raise revenue here in Philadelphia and some of the surrounding counties so that we have the capital funding that will allow SEPTA to take advantage of the federal money as well. And with that, one last thing I just want to note, and I know, Rep. Solomon, you didn't mention it. But the Semiquincentennial is coming up, the 250th anniversary of our nation, and Jared I know sits on that Commission, and that is going to be one of many events that we can showcase what Philadelphia is and about. And we at least should be able to at that point showcase that the subway is coming even if we don't have it built by then. So thank you for the opportunity to testify and I thank my former colleague and Councilmember Driscoll for his leadership on the issue and all of you for taking the reins on this and really getting it moving forward. So thank you.
Thank you. Thank you very much for highlighting the importance of showing the state as a whole, right. I wasn't there when you were there, but I'm a former member so I get the importance of showing legislatives from Allegheny County, right, that this is important. But I also recognize that we put more in the pot, right, as a region than we get back. And so, I'm just excited about the leadership that we have up there now to take us to the next level to make sure the City of Philadelphia gets a return on our investment. Thank you very much. Representative Tarik Khan, please just state your name for the record and begin your testimony, my friend. STATE REPRESENTATIVE KHAN: Thank you. I'm State Representative Tarik Khan. I represent the 194th District in Northwest Philadelphia. That includes East Falls, Manayunk. Roxborough, Chestnut Hill and Wissahickon. Chair Johnson, thank you so much for convening this meeting. I want to thank Councilmember Driscoll for your leadership on this issue. I want to give a shout-out to my Councilmember Curtis Jones who worked a lot within our community on projects and he's a great partner. I want to also say hello to the other Councilmembers and thank them for their work. And finally, I just want to also thank the community advocates, including the Fifth Square and The Bicycle Coalition who have been fighting for this and really raising this up. And last but not least, I want to thank my colleagues from Philadelphia on the call, especially our Chair of our Veterans Committee Jared Solomon, who's also my childhood friend from the Northeast. You know, I want to start off just by saying that I grew up in Northeast Philadelphia and this really would have been a huge benefit having something like the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway. I would have been able to get home a lot earlier in high school from Center City. I could have transferred from the Broad Street Line to a Welsh-Grant Boulevard stop. My father was an engineer for the City and he actually built the airport line that brought people who were commuting from the airport back to Center City so that they got a transport. Because before, people were having to take taxis all the time and we didn't really have that strong infrastructure. This is right along that line of making sure this world class city, Philadelphia, has a world class infrastructure, transit infrastructure. This project as mentioned will bring union work to workers across the region. This is going to benefit all of our unions. Every union that I can think of would benefit directly from this, including the participation of the labor for it in creating this line. I think also which is extremely relevant to Northwest Philadelphia is that the climate crisis severely impacts Philadelphia and my community, and we need a transit-forward policy that reflects the situation that we're in. During Hurricane Ida, the Schuylkill River flooding devastated residents and merchants in East Falls and Manayunk, and we need to make sure we are taking interventions to mitigate our climate crisis. Switching from cars to public transit like the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway will reduce CO2 emissions by nearly half. It would also increase worker productivity making it easier for people who live in my community to be able to get to work, meaning less time to drive, more time to work. I want to also just say about the return on investment to Northwest Philadelphia and to our City, we know that investment in transit can yield about 50,000 jobs per $1 billion invested and offers anywhere from a 2:1 to a 4:1 economic return. I finally want to say as a nurse- practitioner the health benefits of taking the train will be that public transit brings health benefits along with the economic return.
More than three times the people who -- well, let me state it this way: Your physical activity is about three times more than when you are taking public transit than when you drive, so you're three times more active when you are taking public transit to getting to your stop and then traveling to your destination than if you're driving in a car. And we know that being active lowers the risk for health disease, diabetes, high pressure and depression and reduces stress. I can't talk about unions by the way without mentioning the good people from TWU, who will be the ones that are operating this Roosevelt Boulevard Subway, TWU 234. So this is a win-win-win. This is a win for our residents, it's a win for the economy and it's a win for our labor and a win for our climate. Thank you so much, Chair Johnson. I appreciate the time to testify.
Thank you very much. Representative Gallagher, thank you for your patience as well. I watched your leadership around the I-95 issue working with the other elected officials in the area and just want to say hello. And just state your name for the record and begin your testimony. STATE REPRESENTATIVE GALLAGHER: Thank you, Chairman. I appreciate that. My name is Patrick Gallagher, State Representative for the 173rd Legislative District. I represent Northeast Philadelphia in the areas of Holmesburg, Mayfair, Upper Holmesburg, East Torresdale, Winchester Park. This affects my District hugely because I represent down the Boulevard from Cottman Avenue to almost all the way up to Welsh Road, and this would be a game- changer for a lot of those people that live on the corridor there. Getting to public transportation from that area sometimes, especially the rails, is especially difficult when they have to take two or three trains or buses to get to, say, the Frankford El or to the rails on the other side of the Boulevard, so this would make life a lot easier for my constituents and for the area. And I'm going to echo the same sentiments of my colleagues in both the House and the Senate, that this is an absolute game-changer for Southeastern Pennsylvania, for Northeast Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for all the reasons stated before, economics, for jobs, for labor, for -- I mean there's not a box that's not being checked in this program. And another thing is this is also a great idea because a lot of my constituents in my community are rowhomes with no access to cars, so this makes it a lot easier to get access to all the great things that come with living in the City of Philadelphia. You know, it's not just a one-way transit action here. You have Northeast residents looking to go down to Center City and same thing with Center City residents looking to come up to the Northeast to celebrate what we have to offer up here and for us to experience what Center City has to offer for us down there. So it's not a hugely one-sided thing here. I think it's going to benefit everywhere and everybody in the city of Philadelphia. And I think it's just a great project and happy to get behind it. I know all my colleagues that have spoken before me are looking forward to supporting this in Harrisburg in any way, shape or form possible. And I want to thank the Committee for having a hearing on this, Chairman Johnson. And I want to thank Councilman Driscoll for leading the charge on this. I think you guys are all doing a wonderful job and thanks for letting me speak.
Thank you. Any questions or comments from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Well, I want to thank all of you for taking time out of your schedule and participating in the hearing. I just want you to know that all of you working together on one mission rowing in the same direction is very, very empowering. And so, let's continue to move this ball forward. And again, thank you for taking the time out of your schedule and showing us how very important and critical this issue is to Northeast Philadelphia. Thank you very much. Will the Clerk please call -- there's a question. Joe, I see your hand is raised.
First off, I actually had my hand up since the SEPTA representative there -- just looking for her name there.
Just so you know how this works, normally people participating in the panels, right, and you're speaking on behalf of what organization, if you don't mind me asking?
Obviously my concerns would be that of public transportation, the citizens. I'm a civic association member as well as the Transport Workers Union representative here on the call today.
Absolutely. Are you here to participate as a panelist?
Well, you asked if I had any questions so I raised my hand and --
It's all right, Joe. You know, I'll use my latitude. But when I ask if there are any questions, I'm referring to members of the actual Committee.
I was just wanting to know where you based your miles on when you discussed the 9 project, Jennifer? 10
Thanks, Joe. 11 That number comes from the Route for 12 Change study, which we worked with the City of Philadelphia, Bucks County and PennDOT on. So that comes from a previous study that was looking at both short-term 2025 improvements and 2040 improvements. So that is the length of the corridor that was studied, so basically from Broad Street, Hunting Park Avenue out to about Neshaminy, Old Lincoln Highway in Bucks County.
Okay. When you said miles, I thought you may have 4 been referring to the Frankford 5 Transportation Center. It's 6 approximately 12 miles from there to 7 Street Road as opposed to the Olney 8 Transportation Center, which would 9 have been twice that amount. So I 10 was just trying to see where SEPTA's 11 head was at when it's figuring out 12 the costs, because those costs are awfully high. And I was hoping at some point I could address those.
Yes. So this comes from the previous study Route for Change. It's available on the City's website, and that is what we're basing and SEPTA is working with PennDOT on and our other stakeholders or partners to do further studies and refinement of the alternatives.
Right. And you mentioned subways and the subway costs. The minute you put a shovel in the ground, the cost of the project is going to quadruple as opposed to light rail or ultra light rail. So I was just curious to know why you would be looking into the subway option, which would virtually kill the project from the start as opposed to a much more affordable option --
Joe, if you don't mind, because you have your own time allotted for you to do your panel which is no problem, and Jennifer is going to stick around, and you can take your panel time, if you want to go as long as you want to ask her questions, I think it'll be appropriate to do it at that particular time. And so, Jennifer from SEPTA will stick around and when your time comes up on your panel, you'll have the ability to ask as many questions that you would like. Okay?
Thank you. To the members of the House Delegation as well as the Senate, we thank you for your time to come down and do your testimony today. Thank you very much. Will the Clerk please call the next panel.
Next to speak, we have Dr. Eric Goldwyn, Jay Arzu and Nick Zuwiala-Rogers.
Please state your name for the record and please begin.
I guess I'll go first. My name is Eric Goldwyn, G-o-l-d-w-y-n. I'm a professor at New York University and I study transit projects across the country and across the world. Thanks for having me here today. What's most exciting about this as a professor and a researcher is that I usually look at things that have been completed, not things that are sort of in the process of being built. In reading over some historical documents on this project, there's some questions about ridership and cars. Taken off the roadway numbers that I've seen are quite encouraging. The ridership estimate from a 2003 study was 125,000 riders per day. And to put this into context, in the United States there is not another transit project other than in New York City, the Interborough Express and Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway that get over 100,000 riders per day, so this is extremely exciting. There's a project in the Bay Area. It's an extension of BART to San José. It's going to have about 33,000 to 50,000 riders per day. Seattle's project is also in that 40,000 to 50,000 riders per day ballpark. So you're talking about double, triple what other rail projects are seeing in the U.S., so that is extraordinarily exciting for someone like me. I study the cost drivers of transit projects in particular. There was someone just talking about the minute you put a shovel in the ground it becomes very expensive. That's true. American projects in general on average are about $1 billion a mile, which is too high. If you look at other parts of the world, it's closer to $350 million a mile. There are a lot of things we can do to bring those costs down. One thing that's interesting I think about this project, it's 12 stations. You look at other projects around the country. They're much smaller in length. And so, there's not as many opportunities for standardization and sort of learning as you go. I think with this project with stations, you can design sort of a 7 single standard station other than 8 where you have sort of interfaces 9 with other lines and really sort of 10 squeeze out the efficiencies and 11 optimize as much as possible. So I 12 think it's a great project. I'm really excited to sort of see how it develops. And obviously I see some hands up. So if there are any questions, please let me know. And go Phillies.
Go Phillies. That's right. Can the Clerk please call the next panelist.
Thank you very much, Chairman, for giving me this opportunity to speak. My name is Jay Arzu. I am a Ph.D. student in the City and Regional Planning at the Penn Weitzman School of Design. I did prepare a brief statement. But instead of doing that, I will instead be reading a statement from PennDOT. PennDOT will not be on this call today unfortunately, but they did have some updates for their Route for Change program that I wanted to share. So if I could briefly do that, sir.
Absolutely. Just state your name for the record and please read your statement.
Absolutely. Okay. Jay Arzu, J-a-y. Last name Arzu, A-r-z-u. So just to read from the PennDOT document, the Route for Change program's vision intends to transform Roosevelt Boulevard by enhancing safety, accessibility and reliability along Roosevelt Boulevard for all users, including pedestrians by supporting local, regional travel needs, changing land use patterns, enhancing connectivities and mobility to local communities while promoting economic opportunities. As the next phase of the Route for Change program, the department has initiated a two-tiered evaluation process that will be used to select a preferred alternative. A screening study will further refine the two general roadway alternatives initially identified into specific alternatives. They will then compare and analyze the six specific alternatives and recommend three or six specific alternatives for more analysis. So now I will read the different alternatives. For reference, the two high level 2040 roadway alternatives initially identified: Alternative 1, partially capped expressway with surface transit, light rail or bus rapid transit. Alternative 2, neighborhood boulevard with surface transit, light rail or BRT. As part of Phase B full 2040 alternatives analysis, four additional alternatives will be considered. Alternative 3, partially capped expressway with a subway. Alternative 4, neighborhood boulevard with subway. Alternative 5, blended roadway configuration with surface transit, light rail or BRT. And lastly, Alternative 6, blended roadway configuration with subway. So, Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to reiterate this information from PennDOT. I wish that they could have been here to explain this themselves, but it looks very so that PennDOT is moving forward with Subway alternatives as included in its Route for Change Part B project, so we will be moving forward. We have a plan here and I will give the floor back to you. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much. I just want to acknowledge you for your hard work and your dedication on this particular project, so I am well aware of the work you have been doing as a Penn student and your passion around this particular project. Will the Clerk please call the next panelist please.
Hi. Yeah, my name is Nick Zuwiala-Rogers. I'm the Transportation Program Director at Clean Air Council. Thanks for the opportunity to give this testimony today. The Council is a member-supported environmental advocacy organization whose mission is to protect everyone's rights to a healthy environment, and I've been asked to come and explain why Clean Air Council supports enhanced high quality transit service on Roosevelt Boulevard, including a subway combined with a reimagined Boulevard that prioritizes safety and neighborhood connectivity and the reasons why we believe it's good for the environment. We're in an age of a climate crisis. Natural disasters are happening at increasing rates. We're seeing record year after record year of high temperatures. In this past year, our region experienced an abnormally high number of air quality action days where it was difficult to breathe here in Philadelphia. We need to act now in order to see meaningful reductions in carbon emissions fast enough that we avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Transportation is the leading source of climate emissions and private autos are the largest part of that sector. That's larger than air travel or freight movement. Transportation and its associated congestion and idling also cause local air pollution, which has a major negative impact on the health of people in the region. Residents near major roadways like the Boulevard are more likely to suffer greater rates of asthma and other respiratory illness as well as cardiovascular disease. And as such, shifting people to public transit is an environmental and public health imperative. And high quality service that is fast, frequent, reliable, clean and safe is the only way we can convince people to become transit riders. And that's why creating a high quality transit service like a subway on Roosevelt Boulevard is so crucial. The Boulevard serves roughly a third of Philadelphia residents and carries 90,000 vehicles on it daily at its highest point. Currently around 20,000 people use bus service on the Boulevard every day, but ridership could be so much higher if people had a truly high quality option that was more convenient than using a car. Subways and high-speed trolleys only get people where they're going faster than a car in urban environments. 87, which is more than triple from personal autos. A subway or other high quality service that not only replaces trips along this road but also efficiently connects service into the rest of SEPTA's system, including the Broad Street Line serving Center City is the solution we need to reduce emissions and improve air quality in Philadelphia. While high quality and high speed transit service along the Boulevard would be an incredible addition to the existing transit system, it must go hand in hand with completely redesigning the Boulevard in a way that prioritizes pedestrians, cyclists and driver safety. In its current form, Roosevelt Boulevard is one of the most dangerous roads in America. It's a road that was built to prioritize vehicle speed over safety, and statistics show this. Between 2012 and 2021, 119 people were killed in crashes along the Boulevard, including 49 pedestrians. In order for people to safely access the Roosevelt Boulevard subway in the future, the dangerous road conditions must be addressed. Removing cars while keeping the roadway the same has the potential to exacerbate dangerous speeding or even induce more demand for vehicles to take their place if not done as part of a holistic redesign of the Boulevard. Transportation departments and transit agencies should partner together in this project to include right-sizing the road as or more lanes would no longer be necessary. They already aren't. Since the installation of speed cameras along the Boulevard, the rate of fatal crashes has slowed.
In a recent 8 federal grant to make incremental 9 safety improvements along the roadway 10 will be long overdue, but the 11 complete redesign has the opportunity 12 to build on this success by creating more people-centric places like wide sidewalks, trails and green spaces along the corridor which will make the road safer and more accessible to pedestrians. This reallocation of space can also have additional environmental benefits as green stormwater infrastructure can be installed to reduce the effects of flooding and water pollution from the urban environment. If we're thinking big like building a new subway and we should be, we need to think big enough to complete the entire project and provide high quality transit service, safe bicycle and pedestrian access to connect neighborhoods along the Boulevard and a safe roadway for vehicles. People need access to the future subway in order to use it and they need to be safe doing so. The good news is we have the opportunity now to think big. Generational federal investment in infrastructure is available now, but we need to raise local funds to be able to match this investment and access the federal resources. We need City Council and local leaders to advocate in Harrisburg for the passage of enabling legislation to raise local funds for transit and we need this body to act again once that legislation passes. We must act now. Philadelphia residents deserve environmental and public health benefits from high- quality transit on the Boulevard, and we can't wait any longer. I encourage you to move forward in supporting the Boulevard Subway in conjunction with redesigning the Boulevard itself to make it safer and to serve the surrounding communities in a better way. In addition to moving forward with plans, we need our local leaders to advocate for necessary legislation at the state level to make any of this possible. I appreciate your time in considering Clean Air Council's testimony and I look forward to engaging with you further on the issue.
Thank you very much, Nick, for your presentation. And when you talk about building this Northeast subway railway, it also exudes to the fact of how we reduce our carbon footprint, also addressing the issue of global warming. It brings me to a conversation I had with my two boys about two weeks ago asking me why we don't have winter anymore. And I started talking to them about global warming and the impact of global warming on our City as well as on our earth. And so, we thank you for your hard work and we thank you for your advocacy around this particular project. Are there any questions or comments from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Okay. Hearing none, will the Clerk please call the next panel.
Good afternoon, Chairperson Johnson, members of the Committee on Transportation Utilities. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Christopher Puchalsky. I'm the Director of Policy and Strategic Initiatives at the Office of Transportation, Infrastructure and Sustainability otherwise known as oTIS and I'm here today to offer testimony on Resolution 230533. The Northeast needs better public transit and oTIS is broadly supportive of the idea of a subway on Roosevelt Boulevard. Two important planning documents, the Philadelphia Transit Plan and the Roosevelt Boulevard Route for Change both point to the need for significant transit investments along the Boulevard. The idea of a subway on the Boulevard is one that keeps coming up. This points to the intuitive benefits of this project, that it hasn't been built yet demonstrates the difficulties. The City is currently working with SEPTA and PennDOT to update the ridership forecasts and the conceptual costs for a subway, and I believe some of those numbers from the last study years ago were 5 cited already today in this hearing. 6 A subway would provide significant 7 mobility benefits to the Northeast. 8 Better transit improves equity, 9 reduces greenhouse gas emissions, 10 reduces traffic fatalities, increases 11 Philadelphia's economic 12 competitiveness and would allow for a 13 reimagining of the Roosevelt 14 Boulevard right-of-way by removing 15 thousands of vehicles a day from that 16 facility. 17 It would also invigorate the 18 already dynamic neighborhoods all 19 along the Boulevard. And I will for 20 one second -- the Chairperson's comments about the excellent food in the Northeast.
My favorite restaurant's Uzbekistan myself. Yet the challenges and implications of a subway are significant and we should begin this endeavor with open eyes and a sober disposition. The capital costs will be larger than anything this region has seen in at least 40 years. While updated cost estimates will not be available for several months, it is certain that the engineering and planning costs alone will be more than the City's annual capital budget for transportation. While the local funds required for match for construction, match for any federal and state funds that is, will be multiples of SEPTA's yearly capital budget, those matching funds will either need to come from increases in taxes or from diverting from other capital investments in the City, fixing existing transit stations, new rail vehicles and buses, paving and ADA ramps, schools, parks or some other source. The money just has to come from somewhere and we should be sober about that. Large rail projects also take many years to complete with the environmental impact statement phase alone, taking a median time of over four years to complete according to the Council on Environmental Quality and the Eno Foundation, and that's just the first stage of planning and design. We cannot wait for a possible subway to make improvements on Roosevelt Boulevard now. In the last four years, we undertook the landmark Route for Change study that produced the Roadmap, and we received a Federal Mega grant of $78 million for a $137 million project for short-term improvements that will save people's lives. We initiated the Direct Bus A services that saved transit riders over 30 percent of their travel time along the Boulevard and are currently working on Direct Bus B and bus-only lane projects that will be delivered in the next four years. Perhaps most significantly we worked with City Council, state legislators, PennDOT, PPA and ordinary residents to pilot speed cameras that reduced speeding on the Boulevard by over 90 percent, and I appreciate everyone on this call that voted for that pilot and who is supporting the renewal right now that is being worked through the State House. Delivering real improvements to transit riders on this corridor and the time it takes to complete the first phase of planning for a subway is not antithetical to future improvements, but helps build the transit markets in the Northeast. Just to summarize, a subway on the Boulevard has great promise and significant challenges, which we should explore while also moving aggressively to implement shorter term traffic safety and transit improvements. Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I would be happy to answer any questions you have at this time.
Thank you. Any questions or comments from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Hearing none, will the Clerk please call the next panel. Thank you, Chris.
For our next panel, we have Ryan Boyer, Alex Riccio and Joe Coccio.
My apologies. For our next panel, we have Ryan Boyer, Alex Riccio and Joe Coccio.
Okay. Can the Clerk call the next panel. Let's move on. Mo Rushdy and Sarah --
Okay. Sorry, I think I might have had technical difficulties. But this panel Ryan Boyer, Alex Riccio and Joe Coccio, I believe Mr. Coccio is on the screen to speak.
Yes, sir. Joe Coccio, Transport Workers Union. I just have a few things jotted down here. I just want to thank everyone for the consideration of the subway project and the significant job opportunities it's going to present for everybody, including our union members. It's not just about infrastructure. It's about investing in the communities, our workforce and the City's future. The project will generate thousands of well-paying jobs, union and the like. The jobs will provide workers, their families with stable incomes, benefits, retirements, securities. The ripple effect will extend beyond the job site benefiting local businesses and communities. Our union members and the building trades are all highly- skilled trained professionals ready to contribute their expertise on the Roosevelt Boulevard Subway project. Our union labor, we ensure quality workmanship, safety, efficiency throughout the construction and during the whole operating process. By utilizing union labor, I believe we all know that we invest in the best workforce and ensure the job is done correctly. Safety and quality, it's a top priority for us as well as it is for all of you here. We undergo rigorous safety training to prevent accidents and to ensure a secure work environment. We take pride in our craft which leads to high quality construction and operations that stand the test of time, in our case 80 years, 80-plus years, three transit agencies. 40 of which I've been here for, I hate to say. Union workers, we take pride in our craft as I said and when it comes to public infrastructure, the safety and quality are non-negotiable and we always deliver on both fronts. The project will breathe new life into the communities, boost local businesses, create a sense of pride and reduce traffic congestion, very important on Route 1 needless to say and everywhere for that matter in the City, lower emissions, make our City more livable, more attractive. We're committed to working closely with local residents and stakeholders to minimize the disruptions and ensure the project's success. The long-term benefits while they could be investing in the subject project is an investment in the future, it'll enhance our transportation operation options and improve the quality of life. It will have a lasting impact benefiting commuters and future generations. Environmentally, needless to say, the project aligns with environmental goals by promoting mass transit, reducing the carbon emissions and addressing climate change. We're dedicated to sustainable practices and support projects that continue to contribute to a greener future. In conclusion, in advocating for the subway project we're not just advocating for jobs, but a brighter future for our communities, more robust economy and a more sustainable environment. We invite you to join us in supporting the project and ensuring it all benefits all union workers, local communities and future generations alike. Together we can build a better more connected, more prosperous future through the power of union labor and infrastructure investment and build that Broad Street subway extension. I'd just also like to point out a few things that we're talking about, subways and we're talking about projects and costs. And money is always an object. Needless to say, whenever these things take place or they pop up, United States is unfortunately the sixth most expensive country in the world to build a rapid rail infrastructure and that hurts us, but there are cheaper alternatives. Subway is the best way to go and I agree with everyone here, but that doesn't have to be the only way to go. Subway costs, for instance, could be upwards of 600 million per mile versus light rail, which could be 100 million per mile. Then you even have ultra light rail, which is a mere million per mile.
There's 5 lots of options out there and we all 6 need to know that we should stay far 7 away from any railroad because urban 8 railroads, they cost the highest and 9 next to subways at least. 10 So we have to look at light 11 rail or ultra light rail. Subway 12 being the best, but probably the most 13 expensive option we could face. As I 14 said, when you put that shovel in the 15 ground, all hell breaks loose needless to say. So there are cheaper alternatives out there and they're very viable and much easier, less intrusive such as the ultra light rail. It interacts well with the City. It's very similar to what we run in Southwest Philly already with the LRV trolley cars running down the same road as the cars and the same in Media, Sharon Hill. So it does work and it is the cheapest, the least intrusive and easiest one to attain. That's pretty much all I had to say, except thanks to everybody again.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Any questions or comments from members of the Committee?
Yes. This is Butch Bennett with the Philadelphia Building Trades. I want to thank Councilman --
Yeah, I can hear you, Butch. I just have a question though. Are you part of the panel, Butch?
Yes. So don't ask your question just yet because you're part of the panel, so we're going to call you next.
Any questions or comments from members of our Committee, Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities? (No response.)
Okay. At this moment I'm going to call on Butch Bennett on behalf of Ryan Boyer, the Philadelphia Building Trades. Butch, go ahead and give your testimony. Good to hear from you as well.
It is excellent to be a part of this Committee. And I'd just like to say, you know, when you have projects like this, I think we have to also think outside of the box. We know what the benefits of a subway on Roosevelt Boulevard would do for not only the community and workers trying to move around the City, but just think about the work that it would cause and the effect that it would have on the local unions. We would have to get more local people to join unions and to come into the Building Trades, so I think we're talking about building a subway which is great, but it's also good career-sustaining project jobs that these young people that we worry about that are out there just no 11 place to go and no hope, I think this will give them an outlook and I think our City would be much safer. And I think we really would have to consider this massive undertaking that could change the dynamics for the young people in our City.
Thank you very much. Is anyone else here to testify on this panel? (No response.)
Any questions or comments for this panel? (No response.)
Thank you very much, both of you for your testimony. Thank you TWU for the hard work that y'all are doing and keeping our City moving forward. Butchie, I want to thank you and your hard work that you're doing with the Philadelphia Building Trades making sure that we're building Philadelphia with good union-paying jobs in the labor workforce. Thank you very much. Will the Clerk please call the next panel.
Hello, Mr. Chairman. Mo is here. Thank you so much for having me today. My name is Mo Rushdy and I am the current Vice-president of the Building Industry Association of Philadelphia. It's a trade association of mostly residential developers working throughout Philly along with the professionals who provide them with the products and the services. I want to thank Chairman Johnson and the rest of the Committee for allowing me to provide testimony today, especially Councilman Driscoll for putting the spotlight on this issue with Resolution No. 230533. The BIA enthusiastically endorses the idea of really extending the Broad Street Subway Line into Northeast Philly along the Roosevelt Boulevard, and we applaud Councilman Driscoll for this vision and his vision and advocacy. Northeast Philly is one of the most underserved parts of the City in regards to public transportation, and the vast economic benefits of this extension will continue Philadelphia's emergence as a world class city. The BIA are experts in housing, and the housing surrounding the Roosevelt Boulevard is dense and optimal to be served by rapid transit. In addition, there are many struggling strip malls with massive parking lots that can be developed into higher density, mixed-income -- a mixed-used residential and commercial space if transit access was improved. There are not many neighborhoods left in Philly where one can develop without displacement, so this could really create tremendous opportunities to provide Philadelphians the workforce housing that they need adjacent to the transit that they desire without creating stress on nearby neighborhoods. You know, the BIA for the last 15 years has urged Council to improve citywide opportunities for transit- oriented development to maximize the amount of dense residential business, and I do know that SEPTA has already been working on these TOD legislations and leisure spaces within walking distance of public transportation. The City has made some progress, but we have a long way to go. And an extended Broad Street Line into Northeast Philly could really unlock that potential and create entire sustainable neighborhoods of pedestrians and transit riders. So the BIA really supports exploring this idea further and we really thank the sponsor and all of Council for allowing us to present our thoughts and thank you for your consideration.
Thank you. Good afternoon, Chairperson Johnson and other members of the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak with all of you today. My name is Sarah Maginnis, Executive Director of NAIOP Greater Philadelphia, and today I am representing the Philadelphia Real Estate Alliance or PREA. PREA is a coalition of four groups, NAIOP Greater Philadelphia representing developers, owners and related professionals in office, industrial and mixed-use real estate; the Building Industry Association or BIA; the Building Owners and Managers Association or BOMA; and the General Building Contractors Association or GBCA. I'm here today to provide remarks regarding the potential impacts and benefits of an extension of the existing Broad Street Subway Line into Northeast Philadelphia and Bucks County along Roosevelt Boulevard. The idea of extending the Broad Street Line to the Northeast was first proposed more than 100 years ago. In the century since, the need for the project has only become more pronounced. The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of NAIOP believes that extending the Broad Street Line into the Northeast and beyond represents not just a crucial investment into that part of the City, but into our City as a whole. It will have enormous positive impacts on job creation, economic development, equity, safety, sustainability and tourism. The project will provide fast and reliable public transit to Northeast Philadelphia and Lower Bucks County, something that those living in that corridor need desperately. Northeast Philadelphia as it stands right now is relatively isolated. This project will connect residents to job opportunities that had previously been inaccessible or inconvenient. This added accessibility means that many workers who live in the Northeast and Bucks County will no 8 longer have to shoulder the heavy financial burden of car ownership. This easier access to the Northeast also creates an increased opportunity for firms and businesses to locate their operations on or near this brand new state-of-the-art infrastructure. In turn, this will bring more people traveling into and out of the Northeast and more customers for local businesses. New housing will also develop along the corridor, allowing us to address our City's housing crisis. Ultimately, this project will have a cascading effect that will make it an economic development engine for decades to come. Another benefit at the heart of this project is that of equity. It is no secret that our communities in Northeast Philadelphia are some of our City's most underserved. Access to safe, reliable and affordable public transportation is crucial. Public transit allows Philadelphians and suburban neighbors to get to work, visit their doctors, go grocery shopping and patronize small businesses across the City. With this project, we are removing barriers that prevent far too many in that community from living healthy and prosperous lives. As Philadelphia looks towards the future and as we prepare for a new City Council term and a new Mayor, projects like this are crucial for our success. Currently, Philadelphia is making plans to host the 2026 World Cup and put our City on display to the world. Projects like this will make Philadelphia a more accessible City for international visitors, allowing our great and historic city to host even more top tier events and live up to our status as the City of First Class. Businesses, small and large, the development community and countless Philadelphians will all benefit from an extension of the Broad Street Line into the Northeast and beyond. Through a robust public and private partnership, we can create a resource that our communities need to flourish and that our City needs to progress into the future, thank you again for the opportunity to testify and I'd be happy to answer any questions.
You're welcome. Any other questions or comments from members of the Committee? (No response.)
Hearing none, thank you for your testimony. Will the Clerk please call the next panel.
All right. Hold on, Councilman. Let me put on my readers. Hopefully, this is not telling my age here --
So, Councilman, good after -- good afternoon, Chairman Johnson and Councilman Driscoll and members of the Committee on Transportation Public Utilities. My name is William Carter. I'm Vice- president of Local Government Advocacy at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia, and I appreciate being here to speak about the impact of extending the Roosevelt Boulevard Line. The Chamber believes that the future success of our region relies upon a growth strategy that builds a better business climate, accelerates economic competitiveness and increases economic conclusion, critical infrastructure investments that expand the use of multi-modal nodes, highways, bridges, transit ports and inner-city passenger rail and the International Airport are necessary to accommodate and accelerate the region's development. A post-COVID PennDOT study on investment in public transportation quantified the importance of investment in public transit and passenger rail service, direct expenditures to improve transportation infrastructure and providing transit and rail services have a multiplier effect within Pennsylvania's economy. This spending generates additional impacts in jobs throughout the supply chain and when employee earnings are recirculated as household spending. 41 billion within Pennsylvania's economy. 75 billion in employee compensation within the state. These jobs are a combination of direct employment by transportation providers and indirect jobs supported by this spending according to the study. The economic impact -- this economic impact I should say expands far outside of just job creation and economic activity. It provides employers greater access to workforce, increases employment opportunities for those living in our City and region and accelerates our economic competitiveness. A multi-modal transportation network also provides safe and equitable access to community resources like health care, education, public services and recreational activities. Additionally, there's an environmental impact from reduction of carbon emissions, and individual riding transit reduces the carbon footprint by at least 55 percent. Roosevelt Boulevard is a major transportation corridor as we all know with upwards of 90,000 commuters, it's been touched on earlier. It touches more than 20 of the most diverse neighborhoods in our City and home to in Philadelphia residents and connects us to Interstate 76 and the neighboring Bucks County. The Chamber has explored transportation investment opportunities in the past to include the Roosevelt Boulevard and issued a set of strategic improvements through our Connecting the Region analysis. In this report, the transformation of the 14-mile corridor would be achieved through dedicated lanes for rapid bus service, connecting Fern Rock Transportation Center and Wissahickon Transportation Center and buffered bike lanes. Since then, the City launched the Route for Change initiative and was awarded $78 million in federal funding for interventions along the Boulevard, which include business access transit, simpler and safer intersections and transit priority. These improvements will enhance SEPTA investments such as Boulevard direct bus service, improved bus stops and the currently under-construction Wissahickon Transportation Center. The Chamber remains committed to working with key stakeholders, including those on this Committee and at the state level, both public and private to identify investment opportunities that increase our region's economic vitality, enhance our quality of life. Public transit investments help to achieve these goals and we appreciate your City Council's commitment to prioritizing and investing in inclusive growth and we thank this Committee and the sponsor of this resolution, Councilman Driscoll. And we look forward to working with him. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Will. Any other questions or comments from members of this Committee? (No response.)
Okay. Hearing none, is anyone else here whose name has not been called to testify on this panel? (No response.)
Well, at this time we want to take a brief pause to allow members who have registered for public comment to join us for our virtual meeting. We will now hear testimony from those who have signed up for public comment. I'm going to give the Tech Team an opportunity to take a brief pause so they can make sure that anyone that wants to participate in the public comment section an opportunity for them to get on this hearing. (Brief recess.)
Thank you very much. This is the Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities. At this time we're going to have public comment. We will ask that you limit your comments between two to three minutes. Three minutes is the max as we have a significant amount of people here to participate in this public comment portion of the hearing. Will the Clerk please call the first person for public comment.
Hello, hi. Dear member, the Chairman and the Committee. Hello?
Yes, you can go ahead and begin your testimony. Just say your name.
Hi. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak here. I'm the President of the North Philadelphia Chinese Association and the people I serve is mainly located, the Chinese new immigrants move into this area in the past years and located in Oxford Circle, Mayfair neighborhood. You know, the Chinese private bus take the people down from New York and when it stop, they stop at Macy's at Rising Sun and Adam Avenue. That's along the Boulevard. And this two bus stop had create the Chinese -- has formed the Chinese community in the Northeast, so you can see transportation is very important. In the past 10 years the property in Northeast Philadelphia also doubled or tripled in Mayfair, Lawncrest and Oxford Circle. However, we residents feel like transportation could be more convenient and we are not connected to the Center City. And for the Chinese folk who have moved down here from New York City, traveling to New York City with a direct bus line seems to be more convenient than going into Center City or South Philly. With the population growing fast, property values increase. If we have convenient transportation such as a new subway line on Roosevelt Boulevard, it is an excellent investment for Philadelphia. It will not only fill up the economy within the Northeast, but would radiate through our entire City. In addition, it will make our City look more modernized. Look at major cities around the world and speed train sign is very common. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Will the Clerk please call the next person with testimony.
Good afternoon and thank you, Mr. Chair. My name is Will Tung. I'm a father, a Philadelphia resident and a transit advocate with Fifth Square. I joined the over 600 petition signers in support of a subway for Roosevelt Boulevard. I'm a lifelong transit rider and I've seen firsthand the benefits that public transportation can provide. It's a reliable and affordable way to get around and it helps to reduce traffic congestion. A subway on Roosevelt Boulevard would be a great addition to our City, cutting travel times and congestion not just in Northeast Philly but throughout all of Philadelphia. As a father, I'm concerned about the air quality in our City. Cars are a major source of pollution and they contribute to climate change. A subway would help to reduce air pollution and make our City a much healthier place to live. I am also a Philadelphia resident and I care about the future of our City. A new subway line would be a major investment in our City's future. It would create jobs, boost economic development and uplift existing residents. As we see younger generations being less likely to own a car, my daughter for instance says she never wants a driver's license. Northeast Philly desperately needs better transit options to remain a vibrant and relevant place to live. As the over 600 petition signers and the attendees at three open house meetings can attest, there is widespread support for this proposal among Philly residents. In looking at transit alternatives for the Boulevard, it's clear that a subway is the best option allowing a one-fee ride to Center City and providing a ride that won't get stuck in traffic. I urge all of our elected officials to support a subway on Roosevelt Boulevard and it's a wise investment in our City's future. Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Will the Clerk please call the next person for public testimony.
Hi. My name is Alessa Abruzzo and I lived in Northeast Philadelphia my entire life. I'm the third generation of my family to live here and the second to live only a few blocks from Roosevelt Boulevard. Traveling into and out of the Northeast is an arduous process. In middle and high school, my commute took over an hour and required two transfers. In college, it often took an hour-and-a-half for me to commute to Temple University, a commute which often required crossing lanes of Boulevard traffic before taking a bus and two rail lines. The fact that it took so long to reach a location that is only 30 minutes away by car is ridiculous, but this is standard for public transit to and from the Northeast. As an adult, I don't drive due to disability. This means that I rely on public transit for everything, from medical appointments to seeing my friends who live in other parts of the City. I take the same long route that I used to use for school. Crossing the Boulevard in one light is impossible thanks to my mobility issues, and I have to watch my bus pass me while stuck on the median. I jokingly refer to crossing the Boulevard as human frogger because of how dangerous it can be. There are events that I skip because I don't feel well enough to cross 2 lanes of traffic with a crutch, only 3 to take three different modes of 4 public transit to reach a destination 5 for maybe an hour. This is an 6 isolating choice, especially for a 7 disabled person. And being stuck at 8 home due to inadequate public transit 9 is frustrating. 10 The Boulevard extension would 11 make public transit into and out of 12 the Northeast faster and more accessible for some of our most vulnerable residents, including students and those living with a disability. The extension will connect the Northeast to the rest of Philadelphia, helping to alleviate the isolation this area experiences. It will also improve educational equality, enabling students to choose their schools based on curriculum rather than bus routes. Thank you.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Will the Clerk please call the next person for public comment testimony.
Hello. My name is Abigail Thomas. Thank you to the Councilmembers and their respective staff for the opportunity to speak today about the possibility of a Roosevelt Boulevard Subway. I'm also grateful to the others on this call who are also submitting their public comments. My name is Abigail Thomas and I am years old and I have 16 lived here my whole life. My family 17 has also lived here for a long time. 18 My parents are immigrants who decided 19 to raise their family here. 20 I have found it to be one of 21 the most diverse places in the City when it comes to different ethnicities and different demographics of people with different life experiences. If you live in the Far Northeast, you know how hard it can be to use -- it can be to use public transportation to and back to the City. In high school and college I found it frustrating that I would have to take more than one train or so just to get to class. I know for a fact high school students in Northeast Philly need to wake up much earlier than their other peers who had easy access to BSL stops near them. It sounds silly to some, but for growing teenagers to wake up as early as 5:30 or 6:00 a.m. to catch two buses to receive a high school education can impact their health long term. This is particularly unfair to public high school students who cannot afford to go to the Catholic high schools in the area who decided to go to public school in the City instead. When I went to CCP, I also woke up earlier than a lot of my peers who lived near the BSL because the main campus offered an honors program. I want to be clear, support for the Boulevard Subway is not only because of my experiences as a Phila SD or CCP student. As an urban and environmental planning major, I want the Northeast to no longer feel separate from the rest of the City. Aside from the obvious benefits of decongesting roads and promoting the use of public transportation so we can fund projects like this all the more, but I also care about a more sustainable future. Even with more energy- efficient cars, a frequent line from the Northeast to the City can create a way for the City to also engage with us socially, economically and culturally promoting growth in ways that can be helpful for us. For some, we know that safety is a concern. I also ask that my support for the subway also be taken in consideration for the right funding to be secured so that riders can also feel that it is safe and clean. Part of the appeal for riders is knowing that it will be safe for all of us. I have felt particularly passionate about this project for years since I was in high school. It would be amazing for my part of the City to feel seen and heard in this way, as we often feel disconnected but not just because of politics, especially a Roosevelt Boulevard Subway that way can bridge that gap. Thank you so much for your time.
Thank you very much for your testimony. Will the Clerk please call the next person with testimony.