You are so right. Those blocks are the worst. They are awful to drive on,
difficult to bike on, and even sort of annoying to walk on. I don't care if
they are 'historic looking' or 'charming' or whatever. They are barely
functional. There is a reason that they stopped paving streets with them oh
so many years ago. It's time to rip them out, pave it over, and move into
the 21st Century.
I hate SEPTA as much as the next person, and as a resident of Chester Ave.,
I am inconvenienced and annoyed by this project. However, if it will get
rid of those hateful blocks, I will have something positive to cling to
when this project turns into a fiasco of poor planning and low
expectations, just like everything else that SEPTA touches.
-Mariellen
At 08:07 AM 9/28/2007, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Dear Ms Jones:
As a resident and business owner in West Philadelphia, I urge you to
ignore the wailing of the people who value a few stretches of Belgian
blocks -- many in a condition that the Historical Commission classifies as
of "low integrity" anyway -- over the needs of the people of West Philadelphia.
The blocks are hazards to safety when driving, as well as causes of damage
to the springs and shock absorbers of automobiles that pass over them.
More than this, as you know, SEPTA is in dire financial straits and owes
it to the people who depend on public transit to upgrade its
infrastructure in a manner that will minimize long-term maintenance costs.
Preserving a stretch or two of Belgian blocks that is hardly a tourist
attraction or a destination for middle-school field trips, notwithstanding
Historical Commission designation as something (nobody ever heard of)
called a Historic Pavement Thematic District, is too high a price to pay
for the people who use the roads and -- especially -- the West
Philadelphia trolleys.
Alan Krigman
KRF Management
211 S 45th St, Phila PA 19104
215-349-6500, fax 215-349-6502
on-line bulletin board:
<http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf/news>www.iconworldwide.com/krf/news
website: <http://www.iconworldwide.com/krf>www.iconworldwide.com/krf
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