Why $120 million won't fix Logan Square
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
PennDOT is set to repair 676 — but their work stops short of undoing the damage the highway caused to Logan Square
If you've ever stood in front of the Free Library's Central Branch or the Family Court building, you might have noticed the four yawning holes across the street that expose the traffic of Interstate 676 rushing below. Although the shafts are technically part of Logan Square, they aren't exactly the nicest spot for a picnic — they're simply leftovers from the state digging out a trench for the submerged highway. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) was too cheap in 1957 to cover over the openings. (Hey, it's only one of the most iconic parks in Philadelphia, no big deal).
Unfortunately, almost 60 years later, that attitude has changed only incrementally.
The state announced last November that it would spend $120 million to reconstruct the western section of 676, a once-in-a-lifetime move many hoped would finally lead to the restoration of this mutilated section of Logan Square. But according to Chuck Davies, Assistant District Executive for Design at the local PennDOT office, that's not really in the cards — the agency plans to cap only the smallest of the four openings.
"We'll be able to cover up that one area. It's a small thing, although not insignificant in cost. It was easy, I guess," said Davies. "We're willing to vastly improve the streetscape, the hardscape, the landscape in a way that made the entire area better. But we felt the expansion of these covers just wasn't the appropriate kind of work for this project."
The bulk of the project, which will be bid out in December, centers on PennDOT spending millions to rip out aging and unsightly highway piers and reinforce the bridges that carry city streets over the interstate.
However, PennDOT was clearly aware they would be on the hook for some kind of pedestrian improvements to a highway that was constructed during an era when city planners designed infrastructure like they were playing SimCity — blowing apart entire residential blocks and scarring parkland in order to punch through highway lanes.
In addition to covering the smallest of the four gaps, the new plan commendably reconfigures the nightmarish intersection at 22nd Street and the Parkway. Peds currently have to dash across 13 (!) lanes of traffic and four bike lanes to get from the Barnes Museum to the Franklin Institute. The new plan will divert Winter Street into the outer lane of the Parkway ahead of 20th Street, removing three traffic lanes from the ped crossing, while adding a new traffic island and expanded sidewalk on both sides of the intersection.
But that's really just a nod to rehabilitating bits of the damage caused by the various auto-centered projects that have cut through this section of the city. The three largest pits in front of the Champs Elyseé-inspired library and court buildings are set to remain, masked by some bushes and two strange, circular plazas.
How much would it cost to actually make Logan Square whole again? No one knows, because PennDOT didn't bother to actually find out, deciding from the outset that it was simply "too much."
"There was always the understanding that [capping] would cost significantly more than what we had on hand," said Davies. "It's already a $120 million. It's an extra expense we couldn't bear and one that's not really appropriate for these types of dollars."
Davies said PennDOT regarded the full restoration of the park as an example of "using transportation money for non-transportation purposes."
Paul Levy, President of the Center City District, which has worked for years to improve sections of Logan Circle hailed the improvements, and PennDOT's willingness to include some pedestrian-friendly details.
"You start with the fact that this is a necessary project as opposed to a preferred project," he said, referring to the fact that the bridges over 676 must be replaced for safety reasons. "But PennDOT has been incredible about reaching out to the Parks Department and people like us."
However, Levy still acknowledged the gap between an ideal park and the reality of the highway project. "I still think there are opportunities, after [PennDOT's] work is done, to go back in and at least retrofit these with good landscaping buffers," he said.
The Design Advocacy Group, a non-profit that lobbies for better urban infrastructure, was still analyzing PennDOT's this afternoon.
However, Kiki Bolender, an architect and DAG board member, expressed concern over the plans.
"This is a huge opportunity. And it's worth asking if they're using our money in the best way," she said.
