Police ready for Eagles fans at packed transit stations
SEPTA had 50,000 special $10 Independence passes for use on the regional rails by fans headed downtown for the Eagles Super Bowl Parade. They didn’t last long.
The transit agency announced at 1 p.m. Wednesday that all 50,00 passes were sold, leaving a lot of people who had been trying to buy one since they went on sale Tuesday night frustrated and considering other options to get downtown for the parade.
Frustrated riders spent hours in line at some stations Tuesday night at stations from the Main Line to Media. People stood in line at the Paoli Train Station for hours Tuesday night. The same thing happened Wednesday morning in stations such as Bensalem and Media. Lots of riders were still in line at Media Station Wednesday morning when they ran out of tickets.
And even those who have managed to snag the prized passes are not guaranteed a seat on a train, SEPTA officials stressed. Once trains are full, they will proceed directly into the city without stopping at other stations. SEPTA urges riders to board the earlier trains and at the outermost spots, before trains fill up.
A few other tips: Much as was the case with the pope’s visit in 2015, those using commuter trains will sitting or standing in crowded cars and then doing a lot of walking once they arrive at either Jefferson or 30th Street Station. Dress for the occasion. Wear comfortable shoes and dress in layers to keep warm. Be prepared to walk.
Delaware County is host to five stations that will honor these special $10 train passes, and other regular weekly and monthly train passes. Thousands of fans are expected to use the Regional Rails to make the pilgrimage downtown to shower the Super Bowl champions with support. Passengers boarding at Delco stations will be dropped off at either Jefferson or 30th Street Station only and are instructed to depart from the same station for the return trip.
On the Media/Elwyn line, stations in use Thursday include Elwyn, Media and Primos. Media was the only station with tickets available on Wednesday, but the 500 they had remaining when they went on sale at 10:30 a.m. sold out with an estimated 150 people left in line to purchase them.
The Wilmington/Newark line’s Marcus Hook and Ridley Park stations will also be shuttling fans to the city.
All other stations on the two main arteries serving Delco on the Regional Rail network will be closed for the day. Trains will only be making inbound trips into the city until approximately 9 a.m. with outbound-only service beginning at 2 p.m. and ending at 9:30 p.m.
SEPTA has outlined the following schedule of trains whose journeys will start on a rotating basis from each station throughout the morning.
From Elwyn, trains will leave at 5:32 a.m., 6 a.m., 6:37 a.m., and 6:50 a.m. Only one trip will originate at Media and that will be at 7:10 a.m. Trips commencing at Primos will depart at 7:15 a.m., 8:07 a.m., 8:25 a.m., and 8:50 a.m.
The Wilmington/Newark line will start running trains out of Wilmington before stopping in Delaware County. Trains leave Wilmington at 6:08 a.m., 7:06 a.m., 7:58 a.m., and 8:54 a.m. Trains starting at Marcus Hook will depart at 7 a.m., 8:35 a.m. and 9:35 a.m. Ridley Park will host two starting trips at 7:43 a.m. and 9:08.
An important travel note is that when trains are full before stopping at all open stations on their line, they will proceed directly to the city.
To accommodate for an influx of passengers local police departments have made detailed parking regulations and increased police presence at the stations within their communities to keep everyone safe and to keep traffic flowing.
The biggest community to deal with parade travel is Upper Darby, which not only has the Primos Regional Rail station to work with, but 69th Street Terminal as a major hub of the transit authority. It is the end/starting point for the Market-Frankford Line, which will be providing free rides to the city for parade attendees.
Upper Darby Mayor Tom Micozzie said Wednesday morning that there will be an increased police presence at the terminal, which will help keep the flow of traffic at the busy intersection of 69th and Market streets clear. Officers will be out at 6 a.m. to enforce new traffic patterns in front of the terminal and to help at designated vehicle dropoff points in the area.
For those parking by the terminal, the SEPTA parking lot next to the terminal will be open and parking meters in the area will not be enforced that day. However, Micozzie said persons illegally parked in the neighborhood will have their cars towed.
Pedestrians will be using the walking bridge over Market Street to get them to the terminal from 69th Street.
Queues will be created inside the terminal to help passengers make their way safely to the MFL boarding platform. Trains are expected to run every five minutes with limited stops into the city.
Over at Primos Station, parking will be available at the site of the former Daily Times building on 500 Mildred Ave. Aldan police will be assisting at this location.
After Pope Francis’ weekend visit in September 2015, Micozzie said he was ready for the one-day only Eagles parade.
“The pope gave us a lot of coordination and working with SEPTA,” he said. “We have a very robust, quick plan to handle a one-day event. Our goal is to make sure everyone has a good time, and come back home safely to their families.”
SEPTA police and SEPTA ambassadors will be helping passengers and drivers at the Media Train Station parking lot. Upper Providence police will be helping with traffic around Media Station Road and South Orange Road.
“We’re making sure everything is orderly and flowing,” said Upper Providence Police Chief David Montella. “Hopefully it goes off without a hitch tomorrow.”
Ridley Park police have laid out their list of parking regulations for access to the Ridley Park train station.
The 100 block of East Hinckley Avenue will be closed to traffic with no access to drop passengers off directly at the station. The street will be clear of vehicular traffic/movement for the safety of the riders awaiting to board trains.
There will be free meter parking all day on the unit and 100 blocks of East Ridley. The two-hour parking limit will be lifted from East Ridley Avenue to Rodgers Street; parking is allowed in this area.
Restricted parking areas include all meter parking from East Hinckley Avenue to Chester Pike (the business district and around Taylor Hospital). Parking is not allowed in this area.
All other posted parking restrictions will be in effect.
With Ridley schools closed for the day, parking is being allowed at Leedom Elementary School off of West Ridley Avenue and at Ridley Middle School.
“We ask that you be patient when attempting to board the trains in Ridley Park so that all can board as quickly and safely as possible,” said Ridley Park Police Chief Bob Frazier.
Marcus Hook Police Detective Douglas Staffelbach said no vehicular access will be available to the borough’s train station off of West 12th Street. Traffic will be restricted above 10th Street to the following streets – 11th Street, Washington Avenue, Green Street and Maiden Lane. Residents will need photo ID to access these streets. Parking will be allowed at Fifth Avenue and Green Street where passengers will be able to walk to the station.
There will be an increased police presence at the station to manage the platform and to help with traffic starting at 4:30 a.m.
“We look forward to them coming and enjoying the parade and we’ll make sure they get to where they need to go safely,” said Staffelbach.
Go to septa.org/eagles/ index.html for all travel alerts and schedules for Thursday.