May 14, 2015 Joseph M. Casey General Manager 1234 Market Street, Philadelphia PA 19107-3701 Dear Mr. Casey, I am writing on behalf of the Fairmount Civic Association (FCA) and the residents of Fairmount to express the organization's support for improving the currently poor transit service between lower North Philadelphia and University City, by creating a new bus line or a possible re-routing of the underutilized 7 bus line. According to prior communications, SEPTA is/has considered "providing limited peak hour service to University City destinations such as University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Children's Hospital and other new medical and research facilities along Civic Center Boulevard, as well as better access to Amtrak." We know there is considerable demand for a service of this type in Fairmount and the other communities of Lower North Philadelphia. The issue of inadequate transit service from Fairmount/Lower North Philadelphia to University City has been a growing concern for the FCA. Recently, the FCA undertook an informal survey of area residents, asking specifically whether they would value and use a direct transit link between the Fairmount area and major sites in University City, including 30th Street Station and the campuses of Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania. The great majority (nearly 70%) of the over 300 respondents indicated that they would "definitely" or "very likely" use such a transit connection. More than 80% of residents who worked in University City responded in this way, but perhaps even more interestingly, fully half of those respondents who worked in Center City also indicated that they would be likely to use such a connection at least once a week, showing that this proposal would be valuable to more people than just the regular commuters. While not scientific, this survey certainly confirms what the FCA knows anecdotally to be true - that the Fairmount-to-University City corridor is underserved by existing transit options. Fairmount Civic Association | P.O. Box 56326 | Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.fairmountcivicassociation.org We also believe that direct service to University City would be useful to commuters from Strawberry Mansion, Brewerytown, and Sharswood. Conversations with civic groups in those areas have confirmed that belief. It would make UC employment opportunities attractive to residents of those neighborhoods. We understand that SEPTA had been willing to consider the realignment of an existing bus route. We would strongly request that any such rerouting also take into account the possibility of serving 30th Street Station, since we know that a fair number of those who make this trip regularly are transferring to other transit services there. While we certainly support the rerouting of the 43 bus, we would also like to suggest that the addition of a University City loop on the route 7 bus is another, and in some ways better, candidate for this change, since it serves a number of neighborhoods on the west side of Lower North Philadelphia (neighborhoods farther to the east, along the route 43, have better access to subway lines and may not need the connection to West Philadelphia quite as much). One could imagine that the route 7, which is underutilized by Fairmount residents, might be reconfigured to continue west on Market Street past 30th Street Station and then on through the Drexel/Penn area, to reconnect with its original route by a return east on Chestnut Street or even somewhere around Washington Avenue We appreciate your willingness to consider these service enhancements and stand ready to speak with you further. Yours Truly, Larry Reynolds, President cc: D. Clarke, City Councilman, 5th District W. Greenlee, City Councilman, At Large J. Carter, Brewerytown CDC S. Rana, Executive Director, Fairmount CDC Fairmount Civic Association | P.O. Box 56326 | Philadelphia, PA 19130 www.fairmountcivicassociation.org .