There are a variety of reasons that many oppose the extension of the Norristown High Speed Line. I hope to outline those now. Initially the communication about the project to residents of Upper Merion Township was horrible. I’ve personally lived in King of Prussia since about 2008 and wasn’t made aware of the project until last year, that was after about a year or two of meetings. To be exact, I w
asn’t made aware until the Tier 2 Screenings were complete and SEPTA was making their presentations on those screenings. Since being made aware of the project, I have personally felt that many of the people involved with the project have been rather cold and rude. The people that I have spoken with (who I can only assume is the team hired to work as Public Relations for the project), seem to avoid some very valid questions that I and my neighbors have had. For example… Should a route that runs through the backyards of residents be chosen, where will access points be for maintenance and emergency purposes? Never once did I get an answer, not even a “We will look into that”. That is just one of a few questions I have asked. Even looking on the FAQ pages, they don’t even address that question even being asked. They also seem to have answers to other questions that I don’t think have been fully researched. Again for example… The sinkhole issue that exists in King of Prussia, has that even been looked into? They again didn’t have a clear answer. Over the last 20 years there has a number of sinkhole issues. Will this be a problem for this project? In the eyes of many Upper Merion residents, this project benefits people outside of our community more than the people inside. The obvious complaints from residents are the fact that this train will be an eyesore as well as create unnecessary noise pollution. When my wife and I were looking into buying our home here in King of Prussia, we actually looked at a house that sits on the existing line. We stood in the kitchen discussing the possibility of buying the home when a train roared by. It was at that moment we decided against purchasing the home and purchased the one we are in just a few weeks later. We realized that it was a sound we didn’t want to hear at 4 AM. We, and I can only assume others in our neighborhood, purchased the homes we did in our neighborhood because it was a nice quiet neighborhood away from the hustle and bustle of King of Prussia. So now the train that we purposely avoided will now be place in our backyard. There are other concerns like crime and safety. Will crime increase? Time will tell, however the fear of increase crime could actually hurt the property values. There is a good article on CityLab.com that discusses how just the perception of light rail has negative effects. Safety is more of a personal concern of mine. A train anywhere for 20-40 feet from backdoors is kind of a scary thought. Even though the train won’t be at-grade for most of the route, will precautionary measures taken to prevent falling debris, downed wires, etc.? Going back to that house I did not purchase, the rail was at-grade and there wasn’t any protective barrier between the yard and the track. From what I heard at these meetings and have read on reputable news sources, I could have been electrocuted. So if the existing track doesn’t have protective barriers, how can they guarantee the extension will? There are questions about how putting the new tracks in will affect the homes as well. For example, for a portion of one of the proposed routes the tracks won’t be completely elevated on “stilts.” In certain areas, SEPTA will raise the land to form a small hill (similar to what is seen at the Gulph Mills station). There is already drainage issues in our neighborhood, changing the land could surely affect that. Some homes have drainage systems in place, while other don’t have systems in place. I think it’s a reasonable concern to worry now about homes not having drainage issues to now have them and vice-versa. As a homeowner it is beginning to look like I will have to spend money on protective barriers and drainage systems, that I wasn’t planning on having to do. This is where these projects hurt even more. Rail Supporters seem to not have an answer to how the homeowners will be compensated for these potential issues. There are concerns about the power lines as well. When I expressed my concerns about them, I was told they could be moved underground. Which would mean they would then have to dig in my backyard. Will we inconvenienced with a disruption of electric service during construction? Because the plans indicate they will have to change some of the high wires that existed in the PECO right-of-way. How long will some residents be without power during construction? There are also the environmental and wildlife concerns. There are wetlands in certain portions of the proposed routes that would surely be decimated. Not to mention the variety of deer, foxes, rabbits, and I heard even turtles that populate the areas in question. Each of the essentially three options has huge barriers. No one wants the 202 option for the obvious reasons: it will split the community in two, the traffic will worsen during construction, the sinkhole issue, the local government is against it, and there seems to be no answer as to how the current traffic configuration would be changed. The PECO and the PECO/Turnpike options I have pretty much highlighted
But going back to my original point of the project seems to benefit those outside of KOP more… Currently, King of Prussia is not a walkable community. At the last meeting I attended, most of the proposed stops won’t have parking. Which means I would have to walk, which honestly isn’t an option because it would be a long and dangerous walk. It would be probably a 10-15 minute walk to the closest proposed stop. If I were to drive to one of the proposed stops with a station, that is still a 5-10 minutes drive. If I wanted to take the train today I could take the 5-10 minute drive to the existing Gulph Mills. So after the extension, why would I or anyone in my neighborhood who choses to use this service want to sit on the train for an extra 5-10 minutes and then put in the extra 5-15 minute (depending on walking or driving) home from one of the new stops when they could get off at the existing Gulph Mills stop? A lot of the statics point to a lifestyle change is needed for this project to succeed. You would have to train people to change their habits, which is a very hard thing to do. I think that is what is not taken into account. I haven’t taken public transit on a regular basis and I don’t ever plan to. I am just one person, but I am sure there are many like me that have the same feelings. As far as I know, SEPTA also hasn’t stated they would cease any of the current bus operations. That means there won’t fewer buses on the road. SEPTA also talk about it being an aid to tourism, but the existing service doesn’t have direct stops at any of the major hubs. How does that help tourism? Is there a traffic issue in King of Prussia? Sure, I think many would agree with that. But I don’t think this particular project is the savior they are looking for. I think most would argue there are more transit issues coming from other places that should be addressed first. I’m sure there are many other concerns that I may not have touched on, but I know that these are just a few. We all want our area to grow and prosper, but we have to do it the right way that will aid people in our community as well.
