Philly Today: Plan For Capping Vine Street Expressway Falls Into Place

Philly-based _Interface Studios created the plans for the Chinatown Stitch. (_Interface Studios)

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A Stitch, in Time, for Chinatown

Once upon a time, this city was really excited about its major road projects. We gleefully tore down hundreds of historic buildings to build I-95 along our waterfront. We dug a six-lane Death Star trough right up the middle of downtown and called it I-676. The Soul Survivors sang “Expressway to Your Heart” — still a banger — and we danced in the street all night long.

JK. A lot of people hated these projects. People shouted and argued and objected. In a 1973 Inquirer photo, some protesters stood in the shadows of construction equipment and held up signs that read “Save Chinatown — Homes Not Highways!”

November 8, 1973, Philadelphia Inquirer

But — spoiler — the roads got built. (Most of them, anyway.) And then, like a minute later, they were filled with whooshing cars and farting trucks, and we breathed in their smog as we scurried over them on afterthought pedestrian bridges. Highways, we’ve finally realized, suck. Especially in cities.

Ever since then, we’ve been dreaming up ways to cover them up, build over them, fill them with dirty water and swim around like rats.

The biggest eye/ear/nose-sores around here, of course, are I-95 and 676. A plan to build a small but promising cap over a little bit of the former is finally underway. So we’re told. I’ll believe it when it’s done.

And the latter? The city announced yesterday that it has chosen a plan for building a cap over two and a half blocks of the Vine Street Expressway in Chinatown and turning it into park space, development space, anything-but-this space. It’s the Chinatown Stitch! Very catchy. The race is on to make a song about it.

Still, I’m not holding my breath. The project will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. We’re counting on tapping that Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods Grant Program President Biden created, but that’s only $185 million to be spread out among 45 communities across the country. We need $160 million just for phase one of the Stitch.

Philadelphia could wallpaper City Hall with its abandoned hide-a-highway plans. But, fingers crossed, let’s say it gets built. Will this cave of forgotten dreams heal Chinatown? Does it go far enough or long enough? And what does it smell like when you put park over a highway? Will this feel like a real place to meet and play or just the Vine Street Expressway’s green roof?

By the Numbers

1: Where the Mummers Parade falls on USA Today’s list of the 10 Most Festive and Fun Holiday Parades in the country. Nice. Wonder how we’ll do on their 10 Parades that Further the Cause of Public Urination list.

3: How many unnamed hospitals in the Philadelphia area that are for sale, according to a notice from an L.A. investment bank obtained by the Inky. Hey Jeff, you like to buy hospitals.

3-2: The Flyers beat the Devs in overtime last night, Sandy. Get on board.

14: Number of inmates who have died in the custody of Philadelphia jails this year.

$2.5 million: Amount raised by the A Philly Special Christmas Special album, which benefits children’s health orgs.

5.2 million: The number of vehicles that will travel on local roads between December 22nd and January 1st, says the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. Adding: “Cha-ching.” JK.

$20.3 million: That’s how much a national chain is using to purchase and convert two existing hotels in Wildwood Crest into one big beachfront resort with 200 rooms, two pools and three restaurants. “Come at me bro,” says Uncle Bill, King of Pancakes. JK.

And from the We’re-All-In Sports Desk …

The city spent yesterday picking at the wounds of the Eagles’ ignominious loss to the Seahawks on Monday night.

Asked AI to describe to mood of #Eagles fans today…. pic.twitter.com/1dAiLTW5ZC

— EROCK (@EROCK_Eagles) December 19, 2023

There was plenty of blame to spread around, though A.J. Brown says don’t let any of that spill on him. It wasn’t just local outlets covering the debacle. The Washington Post weighed in with a piece titled, “The Eagles Don’t Look Anything Like a Super Bowl Contender.” Even the Wall Street Journal, that bastion of sports coverage, got into the act, with a long article headlined “It’s Panic Time for the Philadelphia Eagles.” Thanks, WSJ and WaPo. We sure needed that.

There was no local sports action to speak of yesterday, though the Flyers did play. Tonight, we’ve got the Timberwolves, who top the Western Conference at 20-5, visiting the Sixers at 7, and Villanova (7-4) traveling to eighth-ranked Creighton (9-2), with tip-off at 9.

All Philly Today sports coverage provided by Sandy Hingston.