WHY MORE PARKING

Why is SEPTA building a parking garage at 69th Street Terminal when a
parking lot that can hold 400 cars already exists at Millbourne
Station? It would be much cheaper to refurbish the surface lot than to
build a parking garage.
– Tim Murphy, Upper Moreland

The 69th Street Terminal facility is a multi-modal facility and the largest public transit hub in Delaware County, serving as a major passenger gateway between the City of Philadelphia and the surrounding suburban communities. In addition to linking the Market-Frankford Line, the Norristown High-Speed Line, two trolley routes and seventeen bus routes, 69th Street Terminal is also at the converging point for several important roads: West Chester Pike (PA Route 3), Garrett Road, Market Street and 69th St.

Its role as a nucleus of transit activity coupled with good road access make 69th Street Terminal the natural site for a parking garage. This would be similar to the existing garage constructed at the eastern terminal of the Market-Frankford Line, at Frankford Transportation Center, which shares many functional qualities with 69th Street Terminal.

The former surface parking lot at Millbourne Station is privately owned and also the subject of a planning effort underway by Millbourne Borough that will explore the potential for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) at this site in the future.

– E-mail your questions to sleach@metro.us.