Urban Planning

As the coronavirus pandemic drains SEPTA of riders and revenue, the agency is implementing a range of emergency cost-cutting measures.

The coronavirus has caught up to Philadelphia’s construction and development industry, dealing a blow to a boom that created tens of thousands of jobs.

Philadelphia bike shops, declared an essential business and allowed to remain open are seeing a surge in demand from coronavirus-wary commuters.

In the age of the coronavirus pandemic, biking infrastructure is critical for Philadelphia residents to travel safely and maintain social distancing.

The Homeowners Association of Philadelphia encouraged its membership to embrace the court’s two-week stay of evictions and be lenient with tenants.

SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel said the force has instituted new practices to keep officers safe from the coronavirus but officers remain wary.

But don’t double park or block a loading zone.

SEPTA will reduce Regional Rail service by 25% for the next two weeks and reductions are coming to city train and bus lines, too.

As ridership numbers drop, the SEPTA riders left on emptier trains take up new safety practices.

The Giving Project brings together people to collectively raise money and then give it away. This week, the group decided how to disseminate $150,000.

While coronavirus has city agencies on high alert and panicked people emptying shelves of hand sanitizer, Philadelphia’s bike-share program is riding high.

The authority’s new fare structure would provide one free transfer per trip. The $1 fee would be applied to the second transfer within a 90-minute window.

A housing development planned for a gentrifying area was hit with a firestorm of resistance from neighbors who will lose land that they use as gardens.

One good thing may come from the coronavirus: cleaner trains and buses for SEPTA riders. 

Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation is using cameras with radar to catch speeders in construction zones. First offense is a warning.