Old City wanted Philly officials to hear concerns about the latest Greyhound terminal plan. The officials walked away.
A city spokesperson said they weren't aware that reporters would also be there, calling the media presence 'not at all fair' to staff.
Representatives of the city transportation and planning departments walked away Tuesday night before the start of an Old City community meeting about a proposed intercity Greyhound bus terminal after the news media showed up to cover it.
About 100 people crammed into the gym at Amigos Spanish Immersion Preschool expressed shock that the meeting was canceled. Many stayed for more than an hour to discuss their concerns with district City Councilmember Mark Squilla.
It was the latest twist in the yearlong saga of Philadelphia’s displaced intercity bus station and the search for a new home.
Word leaked in April that the administration of Mayor Cherelle L. Parker was considering the South 2nd Street Auto Park garage, which has indoor space and loading bays for buses, as a temporary site for the terminal. It sparked outrage among business owners and residents who said they had no warning and were not consulted by the city.
“We thought we were coming here to talk to some parents” in private, said Sharon Gallagher, senior communications director for the city managing director’s office, at Tuesday night’s meeting before it was canceled. “If you walked into this meeting … and all the media are here, it’s not at all fair to the staff members who came just to listen.”
Cloe Levin, founder and owner of the preschool, said she was “shocked and confused by the way this went down and how disrespectful the city would be to families of young children” who rearranged schedules to have their voices heard.
In a July 3 email exchange with city officials confirming their attendance at the event, meeting organizers wrote they expected “many parents from Amigos Preschool will be attending, along with local community members.” News media coverage was not mentioned.
Squilla met with the city staffers in the narrow alley between the preschool and the parking garage for several minutes and urged them, to no avail, to meet with the group gathered in the preschool’s gym. He went inside and presided over a meeting at which he heard concerns about increased traffic congestion, safety and potential damage to property values from a bus terminal.
“This has not been a done deal. We’ve been saying that all along,” Gallagher, the city spokesperson, told reporters.
City officials are planning a formal traffic study of the area to examine the possible impact of a terminal. Because the National Park Service owns the garage, it would have to approve. The Philadelphia Parking Authority leases and operates the garage.
“I think somebody said on paper this looks good” because the first level of the garage accommodates buses, Squilla said. “On paper I think this is an honest opinion. … But then once you really sit down and look at it, is that really the best possible location?”
Meanwhile, the Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems and the Department of Planning recently won a $90,000 grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission “to evaluate three pre-identified potential locations for the intercity bus terminal within the 30th Street Station area.”
Philadelphia was thrust into the situation when Greyhound abandoned its longtime Filbert Street station last June, another casualty of the implosion of the industry’s business model. Greyhound, Flixbus, Peter Pan and Megabus would need a new base. First, the buses dropped off and picked up passengers at curbside along the 600 block of Market Street before moving last November to Spring Garden Street.
“This neighborhood is the window through which the rest of the world sees Philly,” said Tom Loder, board chair of the Christ Church Preservation Trust. “These should be streets where people can stroll, look around corners and experience where history was made. You shouldn’t have to fight buses and fear for your safety.”
Christ Church, founded in 1695, draws about 300,000 visitors a year, Loder said. Five signers of the Declaration of Independence are buried on the grounds, including Benjamin Franklin.
Others pointed out that there are some locations for a temporary terminal in Center City with good access to highways and fewer complications.
“I believe in my heart that the mayor will see the light on this, said real estate developer Richard Oller, whose firm, GoldOller, has its offices on the street. “I know the vast majority of us also subscribe to her [Parker’s] and the administration’s belief that bus patrons deserve better.”