SEPTA’s purchase of the site at 6901 Elmwood Avenue would grow access to jobs, drive economic development, and reduce car reliance throughout the region.
We need your help to make this happen.
Ask State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams, State Representative Joanna McClinton, State Representative Regina Young, and Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson to support SEPTA’s purchase of this site.
Our current trolley system is slow, plagued by delays, unacceptably outdated, and lacks accessibility for seniors and people-with-disabilities. SEPTA’s Trolley Modernization Project is needed to fix this transit lifeline that is critically important to our region’s economic recovery.
As a first step for this project, SEPTA approved the purchase of 6901 Elmwood Ave, to establish a new modern trolley maintenance facility. However, Amazon is proposing a logistics center for that site, putting SEPTA’s plans in jeopardy.
While we are supportive of any proposal that adds jobs to Southwest Philadelphia, SEPTA has no suitable alternatives to this uniquely-situated lot. The Trolley Modernization Project, and tens of thousands of residents and workers who rely on our Trolley system every day, is relying on SEPTA to obtain this site. A SEPTA facility will also bring well-paying, permanent, unionized jobs to the neighborhood. Trolley Modernization is also projected to grow 38,000 jobs across the region.
The site is a long-vacant lot of a former General Electric plant, and sits in the heart of Elmwood -- a diverse neighborhood in Southwest Philly with modest rowhomes and small businesses. The Elmwood neighborhood does not need more truck traffic and emissions. We support Amazon’s expansion into Philadelphia and encourage the company to explore sites further southwest, closer to I-95 and the airport.
SEPTA’s proposal is also supported by the Lower Southwest District Plan which would set aside 25% of the lot adjacent to Bartram High School for a recreational field.
Contact Info:
- State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams: [email protected], (215) 492-2980
- State Representative Joanna McClinton, [email protected], (215) 748-6712
- State Representative Regina Young, [email protected], (215) 952-3376
- Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson: [email protected], (215) 686-3412, -3413
Sample Email:
Subject: Please Support SEPTA’s Purchase of 6901 Elmwood Ave
Dear State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams, State Representative Joanna McClinton, State Representative Regina Young, and Councilmember Kenyatta Johnson:
Please support the acquisition of the lot on 6901 Elmwood Avenue by SEPTA. This site is absolutely vital to the future of the Trolley Modernization Project and to tens of thousands of residents and workers who rely on our Trolley system every day.
SEPTA’s purchase of the site at 6901 Elmwood Avenue would grow access to jobs, drive economic development, and reduce car reliance throughout the region.
After years of site planning, it was determined that there is no alternative to this site that preserves the $1.85 billion project, leading to the site’s incorporation into the Phila2035 plan as a trolley facility, as well as SEPTA’s moves to secure the site at a court-determined fair market value.
While I am supportive of the jobs that Amazon would bring to our region, the Elmwood neighborhood does not need more truck traffic and emissions. I also appreciate that SEPTA’s proposal was supported by the Lower Southwest District Plan which would set aside 25% of the lot adjacent to Bartram High School for a recreational field.
Thank You.