A Chance to Check out and Actually Ride the PCC IIs

jsc wrote:I am often amazed at some of the "facts" that are spread around these forums. Please allow me to correct what seems to be some mis-information.

Please come enjoy our neighborhood. It is a wonderful place to live.

Thank you VERY much for correcting these rumors. I want to see EVERYONE who is not working on these trollies. Recruit your friends, family, co-workers and pets to ride these things.

A packed trolley means a stronger hope for EXPANDED SERVICE![/b]

Ah, another crazy rumor bites the dust. Thanks for setting us back on the rails, jsc.

Hope all you Philly trolley fans will be out there.
-Urban

yeah, thanks to all those who set the record straight since my post was deleted which had all the needed information first. I guess posts only count if you've been here a long time. I should've just kept the information to myself I guess. So go ahead and delete this post too since there won't be anymore from me.

I don't want to get into a pissing contest with anyone here; there really isn't enough energy in me to bother with that. I did see your post with the same info after I posted mine.

I seriously doubt that any consideration is given to anything that I post here over any other posts as I do so very infrequently; generally I only bother to chime in when someone starts a conversation relating to my neighborhood or when I have real information (not speculation, rumor or strong hope) that contradicts the direction that a conversation seems to be going.

And so here I go again, this time to everyone. SEPTA will not "see the light" and start the UC loop just because the trolleys are packed on a special occasion like this. Coming out to ride the trolleys is all well and good but if the UC loop is to ever become reality, it will require money, and that money will only be spent if someone else can make money because of it. And that is where the merchants come in. The local merchants in west philly need to see that they will make money because of the trolley or they will have no real reason to support it. The idea of a circulator is that all the trolley routes feed center city and so people are more likely to travel farther into town for dining and shoping than to stay in their neighborhood because of the orentation of the public transport.

If people ride the trolleys, get off and patronize the merchants on 40th street, Baltimore Ave and up at the firehouse at 50th, they will certainly be in contact with the University City Special Services District (UCD) which would then advocate the construction of the new track needed for such a loop as well as identify the funding to operate the streetcars.

So come ride the trollyes, but get off, and enjoy the neighborhood that the trolleys circulate through. Have lunch somewhere, take in a film at The Bridge and leave some of your funds behind. Tell the merchants that you came in because you were on the trolley and you saw their establishment.

I, for one will do this. When the holiday PCC's ran and a few years back the summer Welcome trolley downtown and the Germantown Ave. weekeend trolleys I did precisely that. I came and rode and phtographed and spent money at the local establishments and the ONLY reason I did that was the restored PCC's. There is no reson for me to come into West Philly for any reason other than the trolleys. I will be there this weekend. If you want me back again run the trolleys again.