FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, September 8, 2021

PHILADELPHIA —

5th Square congratulates SEPTA on the release of its Wayfinding Master Plan and eagerly awaits its implementation in the coming years on rail transit lines.

5th Square Transit organizer Ben She says, “This plan greatly improves the rider experience by making it easier to navigate SEPTA’s many rail transit lines. The plan will unify the Broad Street Subway, Market-Frankford El, trolleys, and Norristown High Speed Line into a single, seamless, high-frequency network for the first time, while clarifying signage and directions across these lines used by nearly a half-million daily riders. This new wayfinding plan is a small-but-vital element in our hope and vision for SEPTA to operate as a seamless, unified system.”

5th Square Transit organizer Michael Noda: “As people in our region begin to travel more to jobs, schools, services, and to visit family and friends, we as a city and region need to return to using transit, and to use it in ways that we may not have before the pandemic. New wayfinding will undoubtedly ease that transition. SEPTA has had a long-standing and deserved reputation for being difficult to navigate for first-time riders, and this new plan will go a long way to solving that problem. Riding SEPTA shouldn’t be a secret held only by long-time Philadelphians — it needs to be as easy to use as possible. People who cannot read or who are colorblind should be able to navigate the system for the first time as easily as someone who has lived here all their life.”

5th Square Transit organizer Camille Boggan adds, “Our priorities as transit advocates is for SEPTA to provide clean, safe, frequent and reliable transit service that will retain its current riders and attract new ones. This wayfinding plan is a major step in that direction, and can help to grow ridership by showing folks that transit can be effortless to use. We look forward to working with SEPTA to make this bold new plan a reality for all its riders.”

5th Square is Philadelphia's urbanist political action committee. We're an all-volunteer grassroots organization advocating for safe and affordable transportation, abundant housing, and more and better public spaces.

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