The line was one of two suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.SEPTA Regional Rail’s Chestnut Hill West Line, one of schedule changes last spring, will return with some service in March, general manager Leslie S. Richards said Thursday.Announced during the authority’s monthly board meeting, Richards unveiled plans for the line to return March 7 with a “restricted service schedule.” Riders will be able to travel on the line from around 6:30 a.m. through 7 p.m. SEPTA will not provide hourly service but will have “several trains” running daily, Richards said.“We’re very happy to bring that...…The line was one of two suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.SEPTA Regional Rail’s Chestnut Hill West Line, one of schedule changes last spring, will return with some service in March, general manager Leslie S. Richards said Thursday.Announced during the authority’s monthly board meeting, Richards unveiled plans for the line to return March 7 with a “restricted service schedule.” Riders will be able to travel on the line from around 6:30 a.m. through 7 p.m. SEPTA will not provide hourly service but will have “several trains” running daily, Richards said.“We’re very happy to bring that...WW…

While some are concerned service won’t return, SEPTA remains resolute that the suspension isn’t a permanent closure.Ronnie Hart is spending loads of money on rideshares to get between her home and SEPTA’s Wayne Junction.It’s not the way she usually gets to medical appointments and other business in Center City. Her former stroll to the Chestnut Hill West Line was an “easy, breezy walk,” she said, but it’s one of two SEPTA Regional Rail Lines indefinitely suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hart, 50, of Germantown, said she’s spent more than $1,000 in recent months to go the extra...…While some are concerned service won’t return, SEPTA remains resolute that the suspension isn’t a permanent closure.Ronnie Hart is spending loads of money on rideshares to get between her home and SEPTA’s Wayne Junction.It’s not the way she usually gets to medical appointments and other business in Center City. Her former stroll to the Chestnut Hill West Line was an “easy, breezy walk,” she said, but it’s one of two SEPTA Regional Rail Lines indefinitely suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hart, 50, of Germantown, said she’s spent more than $1,000 in recent months to go the extra...WW…

“If you wanted to paint a picture, a textbook definition, for what transit-oriented development should look like, here we are,” says Norristown’s municipal administrator.It’s tough to get to Norristown from nearby highways.Drivers embarking on Route 422, the Schuylkill Expressway, or Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound end up snaking around Route 202 and King of Prussia before finding themselves in the Montgomery County seat, home to about .Motorists exiting the Pennsylvania Turnpike westbound are dropped off in Plymouth Meeting, still miles from the borough — the governmental epicenter of the...…“If you wanted to paint a picture, a textbook definition, for what transit-oriented development should look like, here we are,” says Norristown’s municipal administrator.It’s tough to get to Norristown from nearby highways.Drivers embarking on Route 422, the Schuylkill Expressway, or Pennsylvania Turnpike eastbound end up snaking around Route 202 and King of Prussia before finding themselves in the Montgomery County seat, home to about .Motorists exiting the Pennsylvania Turnpike westbound are dropped off in Plymouth Meeting, still miles from the borough — the governmental epicenter of the...WW…

SEPTA has awarded a $3 million contract to Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. to help lead a project transforming the authority’s bus system following board approval Thursday. The firm will aid SEPTA on its “Comprehensive Bus Network Redesign,” a plan “to create a frequent, interconnected, and easy to understand bus system,” according to a staff summary of the agreement. The contract lasts for up to three years and begins early next year, said Jody Holton, SEPTA assistant general manager for planning. “This is an opportunity for a fresh look at all of our bus services,” she said....…SEPTA has awarded a $3 million contract to Nelson/Nygaard Consulting Associates Inc. to help lead a project transforming the authority’s bus system following board approval Thursday. The firm will aid SEPTA on its “Comprehensive Bus Network Redesign,” a plan “to create a frequent, interconnected, and easy to understand bus system,” according to a staff summary of the agreement. The contract lasts for up to three years and begins early next year, said Jody Holton, SEPTA assistant general manager for planning. “This is an opportunity for a fresh look at all of our bus services,” she said....WW…

SEPTA officials shared updates on the proposed extension on Tuesday, including changes to its route and renderings of its five stations.Despite , SEPTA is doubling down its commitment to a $2 billion project that would extend rail service to bustling King of Prussia between 2025 and 2027.SEPTA officials held a virtual public meeting Tuesday to give an update on the Norristown High Speed Line’s into the area, as well as new renderings of its five stations to give the audience “a better idea for the look and the feel for what this will mean for them,” said Ryan Judge, SEPTA strategic planning...…SEPTA officials shared updates on the proposed extension on Tuesday, including changes to its route and renderings of its five stations.Despite , SEPTA is doubling down its commitment to a $2 billion project that would extend rail service to bustling King of Prussia between 2025 and 2027.SEPTA officials held a virtual public meeting Tuesday to give an update on the Norristown High Speed Line’s into the area, as well as new renderings of its five stations to give the audience “a better idea for the look and the feel for what this will mean for them,” said Ryan Judge, SEPTA strategic planning...WW…

“Without my rib, my right hand beside me,” said David Woodberry, 58, “it’s just tough.”Everybody loved Yolanda Woodberry’s seafood salad.Well, they loved anything she made, really, but especially her seafood salad, recalled David Woodberry, her husband of more than two decades. She was a perfectionist in the kitchen, he said, one of those cooks who wouldn’t let anyone touch what she’d made before the dishes hit the table. Everything had to look flawless.The best cook is just one of the many superlatives he uses to describe Yolanda, a strong and religious woman with a bubbly smile. Yolanda,...…“Without my rib, my right hand beside me,” said David Woodberry, 58, “it’s just tough.”Everybody loved Yolanda Woodberry’s seafood salad.Well, they loved anything she made, really, but especially her seafood salad, recalled David Woodberry, her husband of more than two decades. She was a perfectionist in the kitchen, he said, one of those cooks who wouldn’t let anyone touch what she’d made before the dishes hit the table. Everything had to look flawless.The best cook is just one of the many superlatives he uses to describe Yolanda, a strong and religious woman with a bubbly smile. Yolanda,...WW…

About $1.6 million will go toward replacing 700 handheld card readers, obsolete after about four years.The primary contract tied to SEPTA’s smart fare system, the Key card, has now surpassed $200 million, nearly double its original amount when the program moving the authority away from tokens and paper tickets began nine years ago.SEPTA’s board approved a $14.4 million spending increase Thursday to Conduent Inc., the company contracted to design, build, install, and support the Key to $207.7 million from $122.2 million in 2011. Thursday’s measure — the 24th time the contract has been...…About $1.6 million will go toward replacing 700 handheld card readers, obsolete after about four years.The primary contract tied to SEPTA’s smart fare system, the Key card, has now surpassed $200 million, nearly double its original amount when the program moving the authority away from tokens and paper tickets began nine years ago.SEPTA’s board approved a $14.4 million spending increase Thursday to Conduent Inc., the company contracted to design, build, install, and support the Key to $207.7 million from $122.2 million in 2011. Thursday’s measure — the 24th time the contract has been...WW…

“We know that if there is not a funding relief or solution coming our way, our only choices will be to make cuts,” said SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards.It’s a strange sight, an empty SEPTA bus.Something about the vacant seats and eerie silence feels, well, off. But peer through its windows, and the reality draining SEPTA of is indefinitely on display.While pandemic-related budget woes have spurred , SEPTA has stayed relatively mute on potential cost-saving steps that would undoubtedly impact Philadelphia’s most vulnerable communities.But make no mistake, SEPTA General Manager Leslie...…“We know that if there is not a funding relief or solution coming our way, our only choices will be to make cuts,” said SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards.It’s a strange sight, an empty SEPTA bus.Something about the vacant seats and eerie silence feels, well, off. But peer through its windows, and the reality draining SEPTA of is indefinitely on display.While pandemic-related budget woes have spurred , SEPTA has stayed relatively mute on potential cost-saving steps that would undoubtedly impact Philadelphia’s most vulnerable communities.But make no mistake, SEPTA General Manager Leslie...WW…

“What this program does ... is truly help people address the issue that’s at the heart of why they’re here. Locking them up and putting them in jail is not addressing their true issue.”The pounding the ground washed away just about any trace of color from the landscape surrounding Kensington and Allegheny Avenues last week.The Market-Frankford Line’s canopy brought welcomed refuge to anyone looking to dodge the pellets, including to workers providing perhaps the only contrast to the muted slate-blue framework and shades of gray otherwise in purview. Clad in royal purple, they’re outreach...…“What this program does ... is truly help people address the issue that’s at the heart of why they’re here. Locking them up and putting them in jail is not addressing their true issue.”The pounding the ground washed away just about any trace of color from the landscape surrounding Kensington and Allegheny Avenues last week.The Market-Frankford Line’s canopy brought welcomed refuge to anyone looking to dodge the pellets, including to workers providing perhaps the only contrast to the muted slate-blue framework and shades of gray otherwise in purview. Clad in royal purple, they’re outreach...WW…

“Any job that you go into in the transportation industry, there’s an uncertainty all the time just because of the dangers that are always there,” said one cleaner. “Corona’s just one more thing.”SEPTA workers tasked with cleaning the transit agency’s vehicles must take extra precautions with the gobs of spit often found on subway car floors since the coronavirus pandemic struck.Sweeping over them could smear and potentially disperse viral particles, said Shawn Robertson, 59, a SEPTA cleaner. She used to use a simple household cleaner on spit and sticky spots on train cars. Now she sprays...…“Any job that you go into in the transportation industry, there’s an uncertainty all the time just because of the dangers that are always there,” said one cleaner. “Corona’s just one more thing.”SEPTA workers tasked with cleaning the transit agency’s vehicles must take extra precautions with the gobs of spit often found on subway car floors since the coronavirus pandemic struck.Sweeping over them could smear and potentially disperse viral particles, said Shawn Robertson, 59, a SEPTA cleaner. She used to use a simple household cleaner on spit and sticky spots on train cars. Now she sprays...WW…