Letters to the Editor | Nov. 19, 2023

A recent editorial cited traffic safety experts encouraging Mayor-elect Cherelle Parker to provide leadership on stopping reckless driving in her first year in office. Yet, in both that editorial as well as The Inquirer’s careless (and hypocritical) mayoral endorsement for Parker, the Editorial Board failed to mention that Parker was convicted and went to jail in 2015 for a DUI incident from four years earlier. Compounding the problem, the police said that Parker had no license, registration, or insurance card when she was stopped. I don’t understand how the Editorial Board could gloss over such a relevant component of Parker’s past — one which should make us all wonder if she takes traffic safety seriously. How can she lead on this issue when her personal conduct — especially denying the charges and implying the police officers involved lied — suggests otherwise? Parker owes every Philadelphian an explanation of how she has evolved, if at all, since then.

John Featherman, Philadelphia, john@featherman.com

I am horrified by the civilian death toll in Gaza and pray for an end to hostilities. My heart aches for both sides in this terrible and extremely complicated conflict. Yet I will not be joining a “pro-Palestinian” rally any time soon. As with most rallies, the chants are much too simplistic and one-sided. Those who call for an immediate cease-fire have a moral obligation to outline a realistic strategy for countering Hamas. Any such strategy that does not acknowledge the profound evil and boundless murderous intent that Hamas represents is not morally credible.

After Oct. 7, I understand why the Israeli government says they will settle for nothing less than the total destruction of Hamas. I doubt that is possible; but, given the hard reality of what Hamas is and how it operates, is there any way to counter it without substantial loss of civilian life? I wish it were not so, but in this life, it is sometimes necessary to do difficult and even terrible things to achieve a greater good. World War II is instructive in that regard. I can only hope and pray that a permanent two-state solution with real and effective international support somehow emerges from this tragedy.

Alan Windle, Philadelphia

We keep hearing how SEPTA has invested heavily in the “bus revolution” and is about to release new bus schedules. Yet, according to several people I have spoken with at SEPTA, they do not synchronize bus and train schedules. Why not? This is obviously something that should be done — most major cities do this. For many who live in the outlying areas, a combination of a train and a bus would alleviate the need to park and ride, and it’s much better for the environment.

As an example of why this is important, the schedule for the 28 bus makes no sense. If SEPTA delayed the eastbound bus’ arrival at the Fox Chase Station at 5:08 p.m. by a couple of minutes, they would capture many riders disembarking from the Regional Rail train. Instead, they blow by the train station one minute early, often with the arriving train in sight, and leave us stranded. This adds 30 minutes to what should be a 30-minute commute. That is significant, especially given that the same trip then takes half as long by car. Further, when the bus misses the connection, it is often empty. This means rather than wait for passengers, SEPTA would prefer to run empty buses.

There are numerous points along the SEPTA system where this is the case. For example, a trip going to the airport from the Fox Chase station on the weekend takes 90 minutes. However, due to bad connections, the return trip takes more than two hours. The same trip by car is 30 minutes. In this age of artificial intelligence, there is software available that can optimize these routes across the entire system. But it seems SEPTA is still reliant on a manual scheduling process, leading to these kinds of gross inefficiencies.

Joseph Picone, Philadelphia

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