Legislators want transportation funding for Holmesburg Junction

For many who take the train every day, Holmesburg Junction is their first (and sometimes only) glimpse at the neighborhood.

The aging train station has been a focus of a joint effort by the Upper Holmesburg Civic Association and Philadelphia City Planning Commission as the pair work on neighborhood improvements under the Phila2035 plan.

But while those efforts concentrate on greening, waterway access and an overall more desirable-looking neighborhood anchor, legislators Wednesday will focus on the station’s need for funding to better serve the community.

Pa. Sen. Mike Stack, D-5th, and Pa. Rep. Mike McGeehan, D-173rd, will join SEPTA General Manager Joe Casey at the station Wednesday morning with Peter Javsicas, executive director of Pennsylvanians for Transportation Solutions. They’ll discuss what Stack and McGeehan call a “dire need to make transportation infrastructure funding a priority in the Pennsylvania budget.”

As outlined in the Neighborhood Goals and Strategies Report compiled through Planning Commission meetings with the UHCA, residents want to see parking, landscaping and infrastructure improvements at the station, as well as development nearby and traffic-calming measures on Rhawn Street and Torresdale Avenue.