Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-10-03
MITTENS LATEST TROLLEY PLAN
TOUCHES A VITAL NEED
Speeding UP the Lines to the Suburbs
Would Be Boon to Commuters and
Of Vast Benefit to the City


w trolley journey it is reasonable to
expect swifter rate of transit. In
theory the case works out beautif Illy.
Electric transportation between towns
lying without a metropolitan area is in
no sense agonizing. The cars run
swiftly. The frequent service relieves
the patron of his worried dependence on
railway time tables.
The irritations of short trolley trips
in the business district of crowded city
cannot, of course, be obviated by the
adoption of principles prevailing in the
country. AS we accept the fact of a
modern metropolis, with its combined
drawbacks and advantages, it is only
logical to be philosophical about trolleys
operated upon fairly slow schedule and
contending against inevitable delays.
1t doesn't prove that Norristown is
more progressive than Philadelphia be-
cause it's electric cars whisk along at
speed unattainable on Chestnut street
between the Schuylkill and Delaware
rivers. What the comparison really re-
veals is that Norristown has simple
transit problem, whereas Philadelphia's
is infinitely complex.
Aside from the theme of central city
transportation leading directly to the
formidable subject of subways, much of
the confusion has been occasioned by
rather vague and antiquated notions of
what Philadelphia actually is. For years
the P. R. I. management seemed to act
upon the theory that because a street
was solidly built up for ten or twelve
miles there was justification for running
cars at Market-street pace. The re-
suit in many instances was dread by
suburbanites of trolley journeys con-
Quoted at the very moderate rate of troll
ley rides.
The enormous recent growth of the
town and the movement-common to all
metropolises--of the residential sections
away from the business center calls for
new view of the suburban transit
situation. The railroads, with all their
resources, cannot comprehensively take
care of it. Their service to nearby
places was originally instituted to handle
traffic between small clusters of popula'
tion and the city terminals.
But now that the town has been knitted
together as London was, now that it is
no longer easy to distinguish divisions
| between Haddington and Mantua. be-
tween Chestnut Hill and Germantown,
between Darby and Paschallville, the
railroads are limited in their functions
And it is not only in sections qualify
ing with their lawns and detached houses
| as Suburban" that hardships prevail
| but in districts where compact rows of
brick dwellings face their duplicates on
the opposite side of the street, although
the neighborhood may be eight or nine
miles from the City, Hall. The railroad
stations are often too far away from
these sections to be of any use. Depend
ence of the population upon trolley serv-
| ice is absolute.
1t is Mr.. Mitten's present laudable air.
to provide at least partial remedy for
| these conditions. His elevated and SUBJ
way plans necessarily involve careful
consideration by the city. There are for
midable financial problems to be solved.
Relief on great scale fully COM
mensurate with the city's needs cannot be
swiftly administered.
Reform by "infiltration" is, however,
heartening possibility. The first es-
sential step is the realization that the
trolley lines have not conveniently sup
| plemented the railways as they should.
This Mr.. Mitten appears to have taken.
His immediate concern is with the po-
tentialities of the existing huge trolley
transit system.
Is it possible by simple and direct
methods to shorten the trip from Chest
nut Hill to Chestnut street so that the
time consumed will not surpass that nee
essary for a journey to Atlantic City ?
Will it be possible for Philadelphians to
go from Kensington to Sixty-fifth street
and Woodland avenue with less hours
consumed than in the passage to New
York?
As prime antidote to such snail-like
trolley service, the P. R. T. proposes
higher speed schedules for routes thai
may be rated as municipal trunk lines
The cars now being remodeled expedite
loading by their double set of doors
The trailers already in service OF
Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fifteenth and Six
teenth streets testify to a new con
sideration--long delayed-of the public
needs. In the work which they perform
the trolleys in this city of 129 squar'
miles have somewhat the character o
trains. 1t is fitting that they should hav
the appearance and some of the capacity
But the narrow streets, which handi
cap the community in countless ways
serve as cold douche to transit aspira
tions perfectly possible of attainment il
other cities. Perhaps some day recoi-
struction of the thoroughfares in cen
trail Philadelphia will actually be under
taken. Costly as the change would bt
intolerable conditions may in the end i'm
pose it.
Meanwhile, however, municipal aid i
the traction company's practical plan
should be freely given. The coal-wago
| ;. noun ny1u ~ sldIxt rohuGaJ 1