CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — The SEPTA board is delaying a vote on contracts for a new parking garage in Conshohocken until it gets more data on the $48 million project.
On Thursday, the board tabled a vote on $25 million in contracts to build the parking garage. The 534-space garage is a joint project with the state to push more drivers to mass transit.
“This garage was truly designed with PennDOT to take cars off of I-76, which is one of the most congested highways in the country,” said SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards.
But during the public portion of the meeting, transit advocate Daniel Trubman questioned whether drivers would actually stop in Conshohocken and ride a train into Philadelphia, saying the garage is “just another extremely expensive park-and-ride facility that will generate next to no ridership for a tremendous cost.”
“Does this board actually believe that each day, literally hundreds of people already in their car are going to pull into this parking garage at the spur of the moment to catch a once-an-hour train?” he asked.
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Richards said Conshohocken had grown recently, and she saw a shortage of parking on her visit last week.
“The lot was full. In fact, people were parked in areas where they could have gotten towed because there weren’t enough spots,” she said.
Richards said the board asked for more data before considering the project. The action came on the same day the Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board blasted SEPTA for “wasting money on projects with little return on investment.”
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