Traffic delays and detours mark travel on first day of DNC
Updated: July 26, 2016 — 1:09 AM EDT
The first day of the Democratic National Convention saw travelers by car, train, and bus delayed.
Officials at transportation agencies said it was likely that traffic jams, bus detours, and unexpected disruptions would continue to be part of getting around Philadelphia until the donkeys leave town.
The first troubles came on I-95 during the morning commute. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had initially planned to keep all lanes open to passenger vehicles, but over the weekend found that truckers were not aware of a ban on vehicles weighing five tons or more and were still using the highway, said Eugene Blaum, a PennDot spokesman.
The agency's response was to close a northbound lane and a southbound lane to create space for State Police to reroute trucks, and that led to brutal traffic jams. PennDot suggested Monday that drivers find other routes or be prepared to sit in traffic.
In the city, more than two dozen bus routes - most of them ones that traveled along or crossed Broad Street - were detoured throughout the day. That was largely due to protests on the thoroughfare, SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said. Plenty of travelers saw their buses, even those not detoured, show up only after a long delay.
Felecia Jones, 57, of Germantown, was among more than 35 people waiting in the heat for their buses on 11th Street between Market and Filbert on Monday afternoon. Her bus, the 23, is usually there when she gets to the stop shortly after 4 p.m. Instead, she waited until about 4:30.
"They're not telling us anything," Jones said. "I understand the convention is here, but they have to think about the people who live here and work here."
SEPTA expected the Broad Street Line to act as the major public-transit artery for people traveling from Center City to the Wells Fargo Center, and as delegates traveled south to attend the convention, event protesters surrounded AT&T Station, the subway stop closest to the venue. SEPTA canceled southbound trains from Oregon Avenue to that stop around 4:30 p.m. for everyone except those with convention credentials. Regular service resumed shortly after 8 p.m.
Despite the complications, Busch said SEPTA was largely prepared for how things developed Monday.
"We don't necessarily know when and where something like that might happen," he said, "but we were able to respond quickly today due to all the preparation that went into it before hand."
Some DNC delegates faced travel challenges as well.
"I'm not happy," said Caressa Stoller of West Virginia. Her delegation was staying in Valley Forge, and the bus rides to and from events were long and slow, she said.
While waiting for a bus outside the Convention Center, "a woman passed out and hit the ground," she said. "I am so peeved about so many things."
Catherine Read of Virginia said her trip from her downtown Loews hotel had been a "Homerian odyssey," mostly due to the weather, long waits for transportation, and traffic delays due to street closures.
"They probably did the best they could with what they had," she said. "It's an old city. The road closures, the protests, who could have planned for it."
On Twitter, out-of-town media complained about the logistics of the convention, spread out between the sports complex in South Philadelphia, media tents a hike away, and the daytime events at the Convention Center in Center City.
"The media set up for the convention is, um, sub-optimal," tweeted Michael Barbaro of the New York Times. "A 20 minute walk into 95 degree heat with no shuttles."
Jackie Kucinich, the Washington bureau chief of the Daily Beast, tweeted, "Thanks @uber for dropping me in the middle of a parking lot in 100 degree heat. Worst. Convention. Ever."
By the time the sun set Monday, traffic snarls and protesters were replaced by an even more implacable transportation challenge: bad weather. A severe thunderstorm swept through the region, causing flooding and delays of up to an hour on SEPTA's Regional Rail.
Updated: July 26, 2016 — 1:09 AM EDT
The first day of the Democratic National Convention saw travelers by car, train, and bus delayed.
Officials at transportation agencies said it was likely that traffic jams, bus detours, and unexpected disruptions would continue to be part of getting around Philadelphia until the donkeys leave town.
The first troubles came on I-95 during the morning commute. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation had initially planned to keep all lanes open to passenger vehicles, but over the weekend found that truckers were not aware of a ban on vehicles weighing five tons or more and were still using the highway, said Eugene Blaum, a PennDot spokesman.
The agency's response was to close a northbound lane and a southbound lane to create space for State Police to reroute trucks, and that led to brutal traffic jams. PennDot suggested Monday that drivers find other routes or be prepared to sit in traffic.
In the city, more than two dozen bus routes - most of them ones that traveled along or crossed Broad Street - were detoured throughout the day. That was largely due to protests on the thoroughfare, SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch said. Plenty of travelers saw their buses, even those not detoured, show up only after a long delay.
Felecia Jones, 57, of Germantown, was among more than 35 people waiting in the heat for their buses on 11th Street between Market and Filbert on Monday afternoon. Her bus, the 23, is usually there when she gets to the stop shortly after 4 p.m. Instead, she waited until about 4:30.
"They're not telling us anything," Jones said. "I understand the convention is here, but they have to think about the people who live here and work here."
SEPTA expected the Broad Street Line to act as the major public-transit artery for people traveling from Center City to the Wells Fargo Center, and as delegates traveled south to attend the convention, event protesters surrounded AT&T Station, the subway stop closest to the venue. SEPTA canceled southbound trains from Oregon Avenue to that stop around 4:30 p.m. for everyone except those with convention credentials. Regular service resumed shortly after 8 p.m.
Despite the complications, Busch said SEPTA was largely prepared for how things developed Monday.
"We don't necessarily know when and where something like that might happen," he said, "but we were able to respond quickly today due to all the preparation that went into it before hand."
Some DNC delegates faced travel challenges as well.
"I'm not happy," said Caressa Stoller of West Virginia. Her delegation was staying in Valley Forge, and the bus rides to and from events were long and slow, she said.
While waiting for a bus outside the Convention Center, "a woman passed out and hit the ground," she said. "I am so peeved about so many things."
Catherine Read of Virginia said her trip from her downtown Loews hotel had been a "Homerian odyssey," mostly due to the weather, long waits for transportation, and traffic delays due to street closures.
"They probably did the best they could with what they had," she said. "It's an old city. The road closures, the protests, who could have planned for it."
On Twitter, out-of-town media complained about the logistics of the convention, spread out between the sports complex in South Philadelphia, media tents a hike away, and the daytime events at the Convention Center in Center City.
"The media set up for the convention is, um, sub-optimal," tweeted Michael Barbaro of the New York Times. "A 20 minute walk into 95 degree heat with no shuttles."
Jackie Kucinich, the Washington bureau chief of the Daily Beast, tweeted, "Thanks @uber for dropping me in the middle of a parking lot in 100 degree heat. Worst. Convention. Ever."
By the time the sun set Monday, traffic snarls and protesters were replaced by an even more implacable transportation challenge: bad weather. A severe thunderstorm swept through the region, causing flooding and delays of up to an hour on SEPTA's Regional Rail.
