radioboy.us

93, 94, 95... Ready or not, here I come!

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:49:00 -0800

It’s 1972. Gas is 35 cents a gallon. The Penn Central is falling apart and is going to go bankrupt in just 4 short years. The Center City Commuter Tunnel is still 9 years from opening. Inner-city transit is something for poor people.

The Delaware waterfront, once one of the world’s major manufacturing hubs, now looks like something out of Fallout: Philadelphia.

When you consider this, it’s easy to see why 95 seemed like a pretty good idea at the time. Create an artery to bring people into the city and have it close to the gentrifying Society Hill.

It’s also easy to see why 95 in its current form doesn’t work in 2012. For the first time in almost a century, we want to be on the waterfront, because it’s not being choked by manufacturing smoke, factories, and warehouses.

And so, there are almost yearly cries. “Just demolish 95!” Ah, if only it were that easy, right?

The current timeline calls for a plan by 2020, to be built in 2040. It needs to last until at least 2090. And that’s difficult, since we just proved that we couldn’t even predict 2012 in 1980. The entire track record of building things in the area of Society Hill is pretty awful. 95. New Market. Society Hill Towers. Independence National Grass Lot Collection. The Mint. Most of the east Market office buildings. Endless brick and concrete plazas.

I don’t know what the solution for 95 is. I don’t think it’s demolition, because I’m fairly certain NIMBY’s in Society Hill wouldn’t be too excited to have industrial traffic bound for the ports on the local roads adjacent to their neighborhood. But, that’s about where my opinion on the matter ends.

But when I point out that 95 looked good at the time-when gas was cheap and transit was in shambles and the waterfront was a wasteland-I get accused of not wanting to better the city. Not true.

I want to see a great Delaware Waterfront. I also want to see one that isn’t choked off by growing demand for travel space by the people coming to see that great waterfront (“Use transit!” sounds great, but there will always be people who need or want to drive).

Most importantly, I want to see something get done. I’m not going to claim to know what that is, because there are people smarter than me who can see much more than I can. But I do know that any plan is going to be opposed and fought tooth and nail, because that’s the MO in Philadelphia. Whether that fighting comes from politicians, or NIMBYs, or developers, there will be fighting, and the whole thing could easily be tied up in red tape forever. And a 95 that never gets touched and is crumbling to the ground in 2070 will make things worse for everyone, and be even harder to improve.

I want to see a great Delaware Waterfront, I want to see the transportation needs of the city be met, I want to see something future-proof, and most of all, I want to see it actually happen.

Photo

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 16:57:17 -0800

Meme Drinking Game

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:45:34 -0800

Meme Drinking Game

48 Pictures That Perfectly Capture The ’90s

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:15:34 -0800

48 Pictures That Perfectly Capture The ’90s

"But a basic rule of thumb seems to suggest itself: The fact that business owners would prefer not to..."

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 15:05:01 -0800

“But a basic rule of thumb seems to suggest itself: The fact that business owners would prefer not to face competition is not a valid regulatory purpose.
…
Most of all, the fact that an existing business owner objects to the practices of a new business is a terrible reason to block a truck from operating.”

- Food truck war: How city governments are trying to kill them with dumb regulations.

Parks and Rec 5 week hiatus.

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:17:40 -0800

Parks and Rec 5 week hiatus.

My face when I saw that Parks and Rec is going on a hiatus

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:13:44 -0800

My face when I saw that Parks and Rec is going on a hiatus

thedailywhat: Abstruse Goose.

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 07:08:10 -0800

thedailywhat:

Abstruse Goose.

pleatedjeans: via

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:24:54 -0800

pleatedjeans:

via

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Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:24:51 -0800

Photo

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:04:39 -0800

(via I tried to watch Game of Thrones and this is what happened...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 17:55:08 -0800

(via I tried to watch Game of Thrones and this is what happened - The Oatmeal)

platypusjones: What are the odds?

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:03:05 -0800

platypusjones:

What are the odds?

thefrogman: Dove commissioned a study on how advertisements...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:02:04 -0800

thefrogman:

Dove commissioned a study on how advertisements influenced girls ages 10-14. 77% of girls did describe themselves in negative terms when comparing themselves to beauty advertisements. The internet headline writers decided to distort that into “77% of girls think they are ugly.” That is not the same thing.

“Alright, Frogman. Here is a picture of Ryan Gosling’s abs. How do you think your abs compare.”

“I’m not entirely sure I have abs, to be honest.”

“I’m just going to say that you think you’re ugly.”

“Wait, what?”

This is why I don’t trust hipster hand statistics.

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Sun, 19 Feb 2012 08:03:05 -0800

There’s a lot of anger at Chris Christie today. But I’m not angry. I’m...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:20:46 -0800

There’s a lot of anger at Chris Christie today. But I’m not angry. I’m disappointed.

I’m disappointed that someone who I consider an intelligent capable person took this issue as a joke. That his response was “let’s get this vetoed so we can move on to more important issues”. This is an important issue.

I’m disappointed at the people who respond to the matter by making fat jokes. I understand people are angry, but you rarely will advance an argument by insulting or mocking the other party.

Both sides of this issue are showing some of the worst parts of humanity. On one side, people who feel a moral obligation to stand in the way of someone’s right to happiness. On the other, passionate people who are letting anger overcome them.

Marriage license were used in the early 20th century to squash equal rights. They were used to prevent interracial marriages. Yet another example of the “sanctity of marriage”.

To the state, marriage is purely a financial interest. It affects benefits for state workers and taxes. To the people, marriage is a passionate issue about love and happiness and the meaning of the word. Unfortunately, politicians base their feelings about the latter when making decisions about the former.

The entire issue is a messy one, and it’s frustrating to see something which economically and legally is so simple be tied up in emotions. Because if emotion could be removed from the picture, I don’t have any doubts all the measures would pass.

Peanut Chews are pretty cool for doing this

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:11:27 -0800

Peanut Chews are pretty cool for doing this

(via Toothpaste For Dinner - 2,600 comics by Drew - Updates...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 15:10:06 -0800

(via Toothpaste For Dinner - 2,600 comics by Drew - Updates daily at midnight)

Ron Swanson’s thoughts on government

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:50:35 -0800

Ron Swanson’s thoughts on government

laughingsquid: Being a Dog

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:09:39 -0800

laughingsquid:

Being a Dog