SEPTA's Trolley Modernization Project deserves funding priority:

• Current trolley cars have exceeded their useable life and are increasingly unreliable. 
• Trolley lines among SEPTA's busiest surface routes. 
• This is a matter of equity, racial justice, and fairness in accessibility.
• Our region’s trolley neighborhoods deserve a modern system with speedy service. 
• This project poses economic benefits for both riders and the region at large. 
• SEPTA desperately needs the funding to accomplish this. 
• The City of Philadelphia wants this too, putting Trolley Modernization as its top priority for large transit infrastructure spending in its Transit Plan.

Read more details about why SEPTA's Trolley Modernization Project deserves funding priority in our Action Page.

A renewed and modernized trolley system is within reach if Congress brings needed resources.

Imagine a post-pandemic future with a speedy and reliable trolley system, instead of one marred by congestion and delays. Imagine a new fleet of accessible, modern light-rail-style cars ready to serve for decades to come. Imagine a trolley system that’s far more reliable and resilient, giving opportunity and vitality for hundreds of thousands of Southeastern PA residents.

Ask our local members of Congress to earmark federal funding for this important project.

• Rep. Brendan Boyle (PA-2) Contact Form, (215) 982-1156
• Rep. Dwight Evans (PA-3) Contact Form, (215) 276-0340
• Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-5) Contact Form, (610) 626-2020 

Sign this petition and share it with the tag #FundTrolleyMod

Seeing the tragic deaths of pedestrian, Avante Reynolds, in August and two motorists in July, we demand immediate action to make this road safe for all its users. Reports from DVRPC and Philadelphia2035, along with years of advocacy from the community have called for real measures to lower vehicle speeds and increase its safety. This has fallen on deaf ears.

The fact that Cobbs Creek Parkway has been recently repaved without more aggressive measures to calm motor vehicle traffic and provide safe pedestrian crossings amounts to structural racism. These transportation policies have, in effect, prioritized the convenience of passing motorists over the lives of the predominantly Black residents who live near and walk across this dangerous roadway.

PennDOT & the Philadelphia Streets Department need to take robust engineering measures to make the entire length of Cobbs Creek Parkway safe for pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists alike.

High-Priority Measures to Improve Pedestrian Safety

• More Crosswalks to break up large sections without a crossing
• Curb Extensions & Bulb-Outs
• Raised Medians & Pedestrian Islands
• Raised Crosswalks & Speed Tables
• Pedestrian-Activated Beacons (HAWKs or RRFBs)

Other Measures to Improve Roadway Safety

• Speed Cushions
• Hardened Center Lines
• More Traffic Lights & Stop Signs
• Radar Speed Signs

Though engineering measures should be the ultimate solution, we also support automated enforcement measures like the speed cameras found on Roosevelt Blvd and also request the State Legislature to enact laws enabling this.

Join us in demanding immediate road safety measures on Cobbs Creek Parkway.

SEPTA, in response to COVID-19, has been working diligently to adapt its practices and policies in keeping with current public health guidance and ridership habits. We at 5th Square commend the Agency for its performance under tremendous adversity and ask SEPTA to adapt more to better serve working Philadelphians during the pandemic.

Join 5th Square in asking SEPTA to:

• Restore Service to the Chestnut Hill West and Cynwyd Regional Rail lines.
• Lower Regional Rail Fare to match transit fare for travel within Philadelphia.
• Accept Weekly and Monthly TransPasses on Regional Rail for travel within Philadelphia.

SEPTA can quickly increase its capacity to serve working Philadelphians by opening its vast and underutilized Regional Rail network during an unprecedented time.

These changes would give Philadelphia transit riders the room to socially distance while also rebuilding ridership on otherwise nearly-empty Regional Rail trains. These changes would also break down long-held barriers between transit and regional rail -- finally enabling riders to use SEPTA as an integrated network.

In April, SEPTA shut down six Regional Rail lines in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, SEPTA has restored service to every line except Chestnut Hill West and Cynwyd, citing a decline in ridership. However, these lines reach neighborhoods with thousands of transit riders and essential workers, who are forced to take crowded, slow surface buses to get to where they need. 

In particular, the closure of Chestnut Hill West means reports of dangerous overcrowding on the Route 23 bus. And in other cases, SEPTA’s bus capacity limits to encourage social distancing have resulted in reports of skipped stops and riders being denied entry.

Regional rail trains are very well positioned to absorb this ridership, as they serve many of the same areas, and can accommodate eight times the ridership of a bus (at 50% capacity).

But Regional Rail fares within Philadelphia are too high to shift riders off buses and trolleys and onto trains. While transit fare is a flat $2.00, Regional Rail fare is more than double and sometimes triple this rate.

This has remained SEPTA’s fare policy even while ridership on Regional Rail has cratered 97% due to white-collar peak-hour commuters working from home, resulting in empty or nearly-empty trains while essential workers crowd onto slower buses.

Sign our petition asking SEPTA to enact these changes today for the benefit of all working Philadelphians!

This is huge: Jim Kenney just became the first Mayoral candidate to endorse a Vision Zero approach to street safety.

The Kenney campaign rolled out a new website this week with several new official policy positions, and Vision Zero made it into the first round. Kenney has promised to organize a Vision Zero Task Force of stakeholders who will create an action plan to make our streets safer for all types of users.

Read the campaign's statement, and then sign our petition thanking Kenney for his support for Vision Zero:

Philadelphia's walkability and bikeability is an incredible asset which contributes to a high-quality of life and makes our city a highly desirable place to live and work. As Mayor, Jim will adopt a Vision Zero goal for the City of Philadelphia, which accepts that no traffic fatality is inevitable - whether pedestrian, bicyclist or driver.

As Mayor, Jim will take a multi-faceted approach to implementing Vision Zero. This includes continuing and expanding on the work of the Nutter administration by increasing the number and safeness of bike lanes throughout our City. Jim will form a Vision Zero taskforce made up of stakeholders from local and state transportation agencies, public safety agencies, advocacy groups, local businesses and community members. This taskforce will be asked to create a "Vision Zero Action Plan" for Philadelphia so that we can ensure that no more lives are lost needlessly to a preventable traffic accident.

Jim Kenney gets it. He has been a champion of pedestrian safety on City Council for years, and he believes that Philadelphia's streets are public spaces that must be made safe for all people. He's gotten our back, and now it's time for us to get his. 

Please sign and share our petition today to thank Jim Kenney for supporting Vision Zero and getting tough on dangerous street designs.

He took a risk for us by putting this on his agenda, and now it's up to us to prove to everyone that safe streets are a political winner in addition to being good policy. The more signatures we get, the more City Council candidates will see that they can also benefit politically by taking a hard pro-safety line.

This is a crucial moment in the 2015 campaign to elevate an issue we care about. Please take just a few moments to sign the petition, share it on social media, and then forward it to three friends.

Thank you for your help, and for everything you do for Philadelphia.