Pre-Conference Events
PC04-The Black Journey in the 7th Ward
$45
From the end of the 18th century until the 1960s, Philadelphia’s 7th Ward was a thriving Black and immigrant community, home to abolitionists, educators, athletes and activists as well as African American churches, schools and institutions. The 7th Ward was an important stop on the Underground Railroad and the Great Migration. Around the turn of the 20th century, W.E.B. DuBois lived there, interviewing Black Philadelphians from all walks of life for his classic work, The Philadelphia Negro. This walking tour uses the past to talk about current issues, including public transit today and the fight to desegregate Philadelphia trolleys 100 years before Rosa Parks.
Please Note: At the end of the tour a different station will need to be used for ADA accessibility.
Mobile Workshop
MW01-The Other Mainline: Multimodal Communities on the PATCO Speedline
$65
The PATCO Speedline train, running between Philadelphia and Camden County, NJ, follows the route of several historical mainline railroad lines dating from the 19th century. Ride the train to see how Haddon Township and Collingswood, two New Jersey communities with thriving downtowns adjacent to PATCO stops, are leveraging transit access to enhance pedestrian safety and promote bicycling for transportation and recreation. See key intersections and recent transformative projects and learn how these efforts transcend infrastructure, enhancing quality of life, fostering community cohesion, and nurturing complete urban environments. Hear how the convergence of transit-oriented development and grassroots activism is shaping safer, more vibrant communities for all.
Photo credit: Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
Walking, Bicycling, 2024 Conference, Community Engagement, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Mobile Workshop
MW02-A Journey to Chicken Hill: Seeking ETOD in Pottstown
$85 includes lunch
Journey to Pottstown, PA, a historic borough 37 miles northwest of Philadelphia. In anticipation of proposed restoration of Amtrak rail service to Philadelphia along the Reading line, the Pottstown community is working collaboratively to apply ETOD (equitable transit-oriented development) principles to ensure that the return of passenger rail results in benefits for all residents. In spring 2023, the USDOT named Pottstown among the 64 communities across the nation to receive a Thriving Communities grant, providing technical assistance to help plan for transit-oriented development. Hear from local leaders, advocates and officials as you visit the Schuylkill riverfront, proposed redevelopment districts and educational institutions. You will experience the people and places of Chicken Hill, the setting of James McBride’s award-winning novel, “The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store.” Your visit includes stops at landmark eateries such as Brunish’s World Famous Grocery and The Very Best.
Photo credit: Andrew Svekla
Downtowns, Land Use, Economic Development, Regional Rail, 2024 Conference, Community Development, Community Engagement, ETOD, Federal Funding, Planning, Capacity Building, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Mobile Workshop
MW03-Reimagining Regional Rail
$45
A century-ago, two railroads built electrified commuter rail networks in Philadelphia. In the 1980s, SEPTA tied them together with a center city tunnel. As a result, Philadelphia has the best regional rail infrastructure in the US. It makes thousands of peoples’ lives better every day. Yet, it also leaves people behind. Take a firsthand look at two station areas to see how the system is and is not working. Start with a suburban town that grew up around its station. Then see a station in a dense urban neighborhood where residents take the bus even though the train is faster and more reliable. Find out about outreach tools used to reach people who are not riding and learn about plans to make the system more useful and accessible to more people with more frequent service, simpler schedules, lower fares and better integration with local transit. Also learn about the robust infrastructure that enables this service and how better service could reshape the city around the trains.
Note: This workshop is not ADA accessible.
Photo credit: SEPTA
Station Design, 2024 Conference, Regional Rail, Community Engagement, Transit.
Mobile Workshop
MW04-Philadelphia 101
$45
This is the quick skinny on Philly from the locals who know it. Explore several Philadelphia neighborhoods on foot – Chinatown, Independence Mall, Old City, Gayborhood and the area around City Hall – as you get an overview of the city’s DNA, from history and planning to infrastructure, art, culture, redevelopment, demographics and current trends. Move through time as you walk. Listen and learn details about the city – from the Lenni Lenape who first lived here, to William Penn’s original plan for the street grid and squares, from the recent Rebuild Initiative and the Philadelphia2035 Comprehensive Plan, and more! Find out about policies that have shaped the built environment and projects underway, from highway capping to plans to improve transit, parks, plazas and cycling.
Architecture, Walking, 2024 Conference, Land Use, Public Space, Downtowns, Highway Capping, Planning, Transit.
Session
Partnering with the US Department of Transportation: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Beyond
FTA1
Gear up for a multi-modal discussion around innovative initiatives, policy changes, funding opportunities and technical assistance from the US Department of Transportation (USDOT). Together, we’ll learn how communities can achieve successful projects by leveraging the many resources available through USDOT and the historic level of transportation funding made available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Programs we’ll cover will include:
• TOD Planning Pilot Program (FTA), which seeks to improve America’s communities by improving access to public transportation by providing funding to local communities to integrate land use, affordable housing development, and transportation planning with a new fixed guideway or core capacity transit capital investment.
• Thriving Communities Program (Office of the Secretary (OST)), which aims to ensure that disadvantaged communities adversely or disproportionately affected by environmental, climate, and human health policy outcomes have the technical tools and organizational capacity to compete for federal aid and deliver quality infrastructure projects.
• Build America Loan Programs (OST), such as the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) programs, which help finance infrastructure projects.
• Reconnecting Communities (OST) which aims to support communities in developing multimodal solutions to creating greater equity and access in the transportation system.
April McLean-McCoy, Community Planner, Federal Transit Administration, US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Sarah Williams, Project Development Lead, Build America Bureau, US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Meredith Davis, Community Planner, Build America Bureau, US Department of Transportation, Washington, DC
Isabella Creatura, Program Analyst, Office of the Secretary, USDepartment of Transportation, Â Washington, DC
Funding, 2024 Conference, Community Development, Equity, Federal Funding, Planning, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD).
Mobile Workshop
MW05-Complete Streets for Bike and Bus
$65
In Philadelphia, transit corridors and bicycle priority corridors overlap frequently. Making room for both requires creative solutions, particularly with curbside boarding for transit users and separated bike lane design. Creative solutions require collaboration. Hear how the City of Philadelphia and SEPTA work together on complete streets project design for buses and trolleys as well as expansion of High Quality Bike Network corridors – part of a goal of providing safe and comfortable bike routes within ¼ mile of every Philadelphian by 2040. Ride approximately 8 miles to see several examples of these overlapping projects. The project teams will describe how they addressed access and safety for transit riders and bicyclists, alike.
Photo credit: City of Philadelphia
Bicycling, 2024 Conference, Safety, Corridor Planning, Street Design.
Pre-Conference Events
PC05-TOB: Transit-Oriented Breweries
$45
Here’s your chance to ride SEPTA to suburban communities – and enjoy conversation at a brewery along the way. You’ll take the Norristown Line (one of 13 lines in the Regional Rail network), stopping in Norristown and Bridgeport along the Schuylkill River in Montgomery County. Return on the Norristown High Speed Rail, which runs on the tracks of the original Philadelphia and Western Railroad, switching to the Market-Frankford Line for the last leg back into Center City. As you get to know some of the communities SEPTA serves, you’ll learn about transit and transit-oriented development projects, past and present and future. You’ll also learn about how these rail lines are being renamed in the SEPTA Metro system.
Please note: This tour is not ADA accessible.
Networking Event
Welcome Reception
The Franklin Institute, 222 N 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Kick off the conference at a destination dedicated to the spirit of inquiry and discovery:Â the Franklin Institute, the most-visited museum in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Say hello to old friends and meet new ones. Enjoy a beverage and light refreshments (not dinner!) as you explore this wondrous space.
The Franklin Institute, 222 N 20th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
It’s a 10-minute (0.4 mile) walk from the Sheraton, on the other side of Logan Square.
