PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Is it time to revive the idea of a subway along Roosevelt Boulevard? The concept is the topic of a town hall on Aug. 27, hosted by Democratic state Rep. Jared Solomon.
“It’s to start a conversation about it,” he said, “to see where people are and how we can best use the boulevard, as it’s constituted to do something big.”
The Market-Frankford Line began operating in 1907, followed by the Broad Street Line in 1928. The idea of a subway under Roosevelt Boulevard — connecting Northeast Philadelphia with the Broad Street subway — has been debated ever since. In the 1960s, Sears even built a station under its now-demolished Northeast Philadelphia store in anticipation of a Roosevelt Boulevard subway.
Solomon said having more mass transit will help ensure long-term population growth in Northeast Philadelphia. With the possibility of federal infrastructure money and the upcoming 250th birthday of the nation in 2026, he said it’s time for Philadelphia to think big.
“The boulevard is perfectly constituted for rapid transit, and that type of rapid transit could take many different forms,” he added.
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In May 2021, the city, SEPTA and PennDOT released a report on the future of the boulevard that did not envision a subway. SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards said last week that she’d be interested to hear the ideas at the town hall. But, she stressed, SEPTA does not have the funding to build a boulevard subway.
“Having that meeting, that could be some discussions in the future,” Richards said. “But I can tell you right now, our capital plan doesn’t have anything that includes that Roosevelt Boulevard extension.”
Cost estimates 20 years ago for a Roosevelt Boulevard subway were in the $3 billion range.
Richards is curious to see what the town hall discussion yields.
“This is how all projects start,” she said. “About 15, 20 years ago, similar meetings were happening on KOP [King of Prussia] Rail. And we’re working toward that now.”
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The town hall is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Aug. 27 at the PATH Center at 1919 Cottman Ave.