After garage collapse, CHOP should abandon the Grays Ferry project | Editorial
The seven-level structure, meant to relieve parking pressure for Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia workers, was widely seen as an imposition on the Grays Ferry neighborhood.
Three ironworkers helping to build a multistory parking garage in Grays Ferry died last week after the structure partially collapsed. Much as Philadelphians are taking the time to mourn the loss of Stepan Shevchuk, Matthew Kane, and Mark Scott Jr., Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia should reconsider the necessity of the project.
Inquirer reporting both before and after the incident made clear that the garage was seen as an imposition on the neighborhood.
“We have been protesting this from the beginning, and it was rushed through; there was no chance to give them feedback,” said Fritz Blaw, who works at a nearby shopping center that is temporarily shuttered following the collapse.
Dan Garofolo, the vice chair of the city’s Civic Design Review committee, is known as a pragmatic and measured voice on the panel. Yet, when CHOP’s garage proposal came before the body, his criticism was sharp. “It’s just hard to cotton that this extremely wealthy, extremely well-positioned institution has decided that 1,000 cars should go off campus … and contribute to all the negative impacts of traffic to that neighborhood,” he said.
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Garage opponents held a vigil Friday for the ironworkers who lost their lives, and urged CHOP to reassess the project. The garage would bring hundreds of cars to a predominantly residential area — along with the concomitant traffic and pollution. Because workers would then be shuttled to CHOP campuses in other neighborhoods, there would be little of the kind of economic spillover effects that can help balance some of the negative consequences. During discussions last year, the organization No CHOP Garage advocated against construction, to no avail.
For CHOP, this project was about relieving parking pressure for its workforce. Hospital leadership cited the lack of direct public transit access for some employees and wait lists for currently available CHOP-owned parking locations. The project was also approved at a time when the region was looking at substantial reductions in transit service because of a SEPTA budget shortfall, which would have pushed many current train and bus riders to become motorists.
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Still, the case for the garage was never that strong to begin with. The location at 3000 Grays Ferry Ave. is more than a mile away from the Roberts Center for Pediatric Research and the Buerger Center for Advanced Pediatric Care, leaving workers to rely on shuttle bus service to finish their commutes. Additionally, a 2023 “University City Parking Inventory” study found 11,576 parking spaces, with an average occupancy of 73.6%. That means roughly 2,000 spots are still available in garages and lots that are closer to campus.
The state of public transit may also be less dire after this year. While Harrisburg has failed to pass a sustainable funding solution for three years in a row, Gov. Josh Shapiro has repeatedly taken unilateral action to prevent the collapse of SEPTA. If Democrats manage to capture a majority in the state Senate in November, transit funding is bound to be a top priority. This would represent another strong reason to reconsider the garage. Delaying any further attempts to build until after the election would be prudent.
That’s not to say CHOP’s needs should be dismissed. Anchor institutions are part of what makes the city thrive, and hosting one of the best pediatric hospitals in the nation has long been a point of pride for Philadelphians. When it comes to the garage, however, moving on may be best.
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