Photo from septa.org.

Beginning July 22 and through Aug. 26, SEPTA will continue work on its multi-year Southwest Connection Improvement Program (SCIP), which will improve and upgrade mainline Regional Rail infrastructure between 30th Street Station and just past Penn Medicine Station. The work will impact regional rail service between 30th Street Station and Penn Medicine Station, which will be closed for the duration of the project.

Special Regional Rail construction timetables and service changes will be in effect July 22 through Aug. 26, 2023, for the following regional rail lines:

– Media/Wawa
– Wilmington/Newark
– Airport Lines

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The annual SEPTA Trolley maintenance project, Trolley Tunnel Blitz, is scheduled to begin this Friday, July 7.

While trolleys will be on diversion to 40th and Market via 42nd Street, SEPTA crews will be working in the tunnel and at the 40th Street Trolley Portal near 40th and Woodland. A portion of Woodland Avenue immediately west of the gated entrance to The Woodlands cemetery will be closed to vehicular traffic from July 8 to July 24 to accommodate SEPTA crews working on trolley track replacement (see map). Vehicles can only enter the cemetery by traveling west on Woodland Avenue.

In other Woodland Avenue news, it has been revealed that Phase 1 of the Woodland Avenue Complete Streets project, which includes installation of traffic signals and marked pedestrian crosswalks at the intersections of Woodland Avenue with Chester Avenue and near the Woodland Cemetery gates/40th St. Trolley Portal, has been postponed until next year. Design plans and construction contract to be used for this work are currently being finalized.

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SEPTA Trolley Tunnel, which connects West Philadelphia with Center City, will be closed for the annual maintenance from July 7 through July 24 for the annual “Trolley Tunnel Blitz.”

The tunnel closure will impact trolley routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36, all of which will temporarily divert to 40th and Market, where riders can transfer to/from the Market-Frankford Line to continue their travel.

A temporary shelter will be set up for riders switching to/from the Market-Frankford Line. The trolley diversion map is available here.

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University of Pennsylvania students are moving out of the dorms this week, which means a portion of Spruce Street will be closed to all vehicular traffic to accommodate the process.

Spruce Street will be closed between 34th and 40th Streets on Tuesday, May 9 and Wednesday, May 10, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Delays should be expected in the area during these times. SEPTA buses will be on detour.

Access to the PennVet Ryan Animal Hospital will be via 38th Street.

Here are a couple of important announcements for Philadelphia motorists, as parking restriction enforcement begins today to accommodate street sweeping and the safe use of bike lanes for bicyclists.

The Streets Department reminds motorists that enforcement in all 14 areas of the City’s Mechanical Cleaning Program begins on Monday, May 1. Phase III of the program began on April 3 and to facilitate a more detailed cleaning, there will be restricted street parking on streets wide enough to accommodate relocation of vehicles. Motorists that do not adhere to posted “No Parking” signs will be subject to fines.

“No Parking” signage during specified times will be enforced beginning today in all 14 areas, including the following West Philadelphia and Southwest Philadelphia areas:

• West Philly: Parkside Ave. to Spring Garden St. from 52nd St. to 40th St.
• Southwest: Woodland Ave. to Kingsessing Ave. from 49th St. to Cemetery Ave. Continue Reading

The two plans under consideration for Woodland Avenue near the intersection with Chester Avenue and down to 42nd Street.

Traffic lights and crosswalks are coming to the section of Woodland Avenue near The Woodlands cemetery and the intersection with Chester Avenue.

Visitors to The Woodlands know that crossing Woodland Avenue at the awkward intersection at Chester or the trolley portal can get a little dicey. But a new plan unveiled last night at a Spruce Hill Community Association (SHCA) meeting will slow traffic along Woodland and close down the little section of 41st Street that often baffles drivers and pedestrians alike.

“The whole project is about user safety, whether you’re a pedestrian, a cyclist or a driver,” Julie Bush of the landscape architecture firm Ground Reconsidered told the SHCA board. Continue Reading