Detouring an alternate route to U. City

The hippest street in town will soon be a little shorter.

The South Street Bridge, which connects the University to Center City and the Schuylkill Expressway, is slated to close in early December, Penn officials hosting a Commuter Fair said yesterday.

The 2,000-foot bridge will be replaced in its entirety from 27th Street to Convention Avenue at a cost of $50 million, according to the City of Philadelphia Department of Streets.

The project is expected to be completed in two years, and the new bridge will contain bike lanes, wider sidewalks and turning lanes for expressway access.

In addition to the street closure, traffic will no longer be able to reach I-76 from the bridge. Hollenback Hall, the SEPTA University City station, and the Penn athletic fields will be accessible via the Weave Bridge.

Corbett Brown, a doctoral nursing student, is open-minded about the closure. "It has to be done," he said, adding that the 10-minute addition to his commute would not likely deter him from walking.

The Commuter Fair held yesterday in Houston Hall will be repeated tomorrow in the Ravdin Mezzanine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Representatives from Amtrak, PATCO, SEPTA and NJ Transit - in addition to University Business Services, Human Resources, Public Safety and outside organizations such as Philly Car Share - were in attendance.

A prominent concentration of the fair was on the use of bicycles to reach campus. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia sought both to raise awareness of alternate bicycle routes on Walnut and Chestnut Streets and to encourage bicyclists to explore more of the city.

Mike Gallagher, an employee from Eastern Mountain Sports, stressed that bicyclists should obtain a reliable lock with a looped cable. Officer Dave Dager from the Division of Public Safety added that the department has installed new bike racks in areas that are either well-lit or under camera surveillance.

A SEPTA representative asserted that there will be little impact on service to University City. Bus routes 12 and 40 have been previously detoured, but Regional Rail patrons will no longer be able to use the northern entrance to the train platform.

The southern entrance will remain open throughout the project and the impact on riders should be negligible.

Richard Griscom, music librarian at the University, routinely takes the R2 line from Wilmington and doesn't believe the closure of the northern stairwell will impact him. "Its effect on me will be the addition of 100 yards to my commute. I don't think this will affect me in any adverse way; I'll just get a little more exercise."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.