20 Ways to Make Philadelphia the Best Damn City in America
The solution of the moment, approved by the FAA, is to throw some dirt in the Delaware and expand PHL runways. But half the flights out of Philly are to destinations within 500 miles, and there’s no reason, Lentz says, these other airports couldn’t handle a big percentage of them. PHL would become much more of an international airport.
Lentz doesn’t stop there: “Amtrak ought to run through the airport. There should be a rail line from the airport along 476 to Lehigh Valley, and one from Philly to Newark,” with all sorts of links. “In Europe, you can get anywhere by rail. We’re getting our asses kicked by the rest of the world as far as transportation.”
There are hurdles: Getting airlines to buy into the idea of regionalism, for one. And having an authority break into the patronage haven that is PHL would ensure a big political fight. But a bill Lentz has introduced, to study the benefits of a regional transportation authority, is where we should at least start.
9. CREATE READING VIADUCT PARK.
Converting portions of the overgrown 19th-century train tracks, which Reading Railroad still owns but abandoned decades ago, into an elevated park running through Chinatown and the Loft District is an idea that’s been around for years. There are two reasons why we should stop dithering and start implementing the plan: 1) NYC’s similar, successful High Line project opened in June 2009; and 2) A study commissioned recently by the Center City District shows that tearing down our abandoned tracks could cost up to $60 million. Estimate for partial renovation: about $10 million.
10.HOW ABOUT WE TRY DEMOCRACY IN PHILADELPHIA?
By Larry Mendte, news commentator
This city’s last Republican mayor, Bernard Samuel, left office in 1952. Since then, someone named Meehan has almost always run Philly’s Republicans. In some towns, there are king-makers; the Meehans are jester-makers. The Democratic Party in this city is like the Harlem Globetrotters, and the GOP is the Washington Generals: They put on a show, but in the end, we all know who’s going to win. So competitive ideas aren’t presented, the status quo is never challenged, and a clear choice isn’t presented. You would think with a city sliding into bankruptcy and a pension fund that was legally raided by politicians, there’d be at least one righteous crusader ready to take on City Hall and ride the wave of voter discontent that’s shaking up political establishments across the country. But in Philadelphia, where modern democracy was born, we’re just observers of democracy. There are young upstarts in the city Republican Party trying to get attention, but right now they’re in the other room, at the kids’ table. It’s time for the Meehans to step aside so we can have a viable Republican candidate next year. So we can try democracy.
