May 3, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Musical chairs for top of the Hill SEPTA stops
by KRISTIN PAZULSKI

Buses can back up and block the intersection at Germantown Avenue and Bethlehem Pike, such as these two here. To avoid this, SEPTA and the Chestnut Hill Business Association lengthened the stop for the three routes served at the Chestnut Hill Newssstand. (Photo by Kristin Pazulski)

Catching a bus at the Chestnut Hill newsstand at the top of the Hill on Germantown Avenue has become a bit of a guessing game for riders.

Although SEPTA signs posted about two feet above most riders heads let them know what routes will be stopping there, the three southbound routes the newsstand stop has served for years — 23, 77 and L — have been relocated from the newsstand to the corner of Germantown and Evergreen avenues and back again over the past few weeks.

Riders used to waiting at the newsstand without double checking whether the bus will stop there or not, have been surprised when the bus drives on past to the next corner, said Jennie Funches, a regular SEPTA rider.

Gary Fairfax, a SEPTA spokesperson, said the change in stops is an effort to improve that area’s traffic flow. Because three routes converge at this one stop, near the busy intersection of Bethlehem Pike and Germantown Avenue, more than one bus often arrives at a time and the buses back up into the intersection, stopping traffic.

“When traffic becomes congested in the area, buses would at times have to double-park to accept or let off their passengers,” Fairfax wrote in an e-mail last week.

“In cooperation with the Chestnut Hill Business Association, SEPTA simply lengthened the existing stop so that buses can pull over from the traffic adequately.”

Bob Previdi, executive director of the CHBA, described the intersection as a “bottleneck,” and hopes this new configuration will alleviate the back up.

Seeking the best results, SEPTA has switched the stops back and forth between the two locations since around March, according to Fairfax.

Currently stops for routes 23 and L are at the newsstand and the route 77’s stop is at Evergreen and Germantown avenues, in front of Commerce Bank. But that could change once again, because Previdi said this is a “work in progress.”

Funches, 61, said she understands why the changes were made, but said better planning could have been done to warn the passengers of the change.

Another change to the stops that has some riders frustrated is the removal of the northbound bus stop at Germantown and Evergreen avenues, near the Bank of America branch.

Funches said she saw a bus driver wave off an old woman with a cane waiting at the former stop.

“I thought to myself, ‘this is really ridiculous,’” she said, watching the bus she was riding in drive away from the woman.

Hortense Sladek, a 90-year-old woman who lives in Chestnut Hill Village apartments, rides the route L bus into town. She said she was surprised when the bus didn’t stop at Evergreen Avenue and she had to get off at Rex Avenue. She admits these stops are not a large distance apart, but she would rather avoid the long walk across Bethlehem Pike.

Previdi said the long crosswalk shouldn’t be a problem for long because there are plans to extend the sidewalk at the corner in front of Sovereign Bank, which would make the walk across the Pike shorter.

Sladek said now she gets off at Ardleigh and Evergreen avenues and walks the two blocks to the Avenue, but she would like to see the stop at Evergreen reinstated.

Previdi, who was contacted by Sladek and Funches, said the northbound Germantown and Evergreen avenues stop could return, but the bus would have to stop on Germantown Avenue. Previously it was stopping on Evergreen and holding up traffic, which is why the stop was eliminated.

Contact staff writer Kristin Pazulski at 215-248-8819 or Kristin@chestnuthilllocal.com.