Philadelphia Has More Than 100 Miles of Inactive Trolley Tracks. Here’s Why It Matters

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(Image via Flickr / Oskar Kennedy)

There are more than 100 miles of inactive trolley tracks in Philadelphia, and they outnumber the active ones by a ratio of three to one, writes Michaela Winberg for Billy Penn.

Seven trolley routes in Philadelphia have been suspended, discontinued, or replaced by other modes of transportation, such as buses.

Billy Penn has created a new map of the inactive network using the transit authority’s data. The map shows that the out-of-use tracks cover the entire city.

Another map that covers the remaining six routes still running shows that they mostly serve West Philadelphia, going as far east as Port Richmond.

Despite the fact that these inactive tracks have been a cause of several serious bike accidents, removing them has been a low priority for the city. So far, some sections have been paved over, and one block at 11th and Reed was removed after advocacy by the Philadelphia Bicycle Coalition.

Read more about Philadelphia’s vast network of inactive trolley tracks from Billy Penn by clicking here.

 

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