Most of West Philadelphia's residential streets are free of blight. Vacancy is not a major problem, homeowners take pride in their homes and their blocks, and the residential environment is pleasant in most areas. Unfortunately, the person who is driving along Market Street or 52nd Street or Lancaster Avenue would never guess that West Philadelphia is in such good overall condition -- because the major streets of West Philadelphia are blighted. In general, the properties that line these streets have high vacancy rates and are untidy or even threatening in appearance. This is the image of West Philadelphia that greets visitors to the area; and this is the picture of West Philadelphia that residents must endure as they travel to and from their well-kept residential blocks.

This pattern of deterioration is widespread in West Philadelphia. The housing of the Cobbs Creek neighborhood is not blighted; it is the major streets and boundary streets where deterioration is most noticeable: Market Street, South 52nd Street, South 60th Street and sections of Baltimore Avenue. The same is true in neighborhood after neighborhood. The most blighted sections of Overbrook are along Lansdowne Avenue and on 63rd Street; the most blighted street in Carroll Park is 52nd Street; in Haddington, it is Market Street; in Garden Court, it is 52nd Street; in Cedar Park, it is another section of Baltimore Avenue.

Community pride is dealt a cruel blow when the most visible and most travelled streets are the most blighted ones. Corrective measures must be taken in order to maintain the desirability of the neighborhoods, in order to halt this deterioration before it spreads into the surrounding residential areas, and simply out of concern for the morale of the residents of West Philadelphia.

This section of The Plan for West Philadelphia proposes a long-term strategy for revitalizing the "Corridors in Decline." It proposes action by government, business associations and property owners.

One of the recommendations is to utilize the redevelopment process in blighted sections of these corridors. Through public or private action, groups of deteriorated structures would be acquired, demolished and replaced with new development. It is the Planning Commission's belief that some redevelopment is necessary along these corridors, that the result will be an improvement over existing conditions, and that the integrity of neighborhoods and residential blocks will not be damaged. Extensive discussions with business groups and community organizations will be part of the process of identifying specific areas to be redeveloped, and additional public meetings will take place before the City begins the redevelopment process.

Factors Contributing to Advanced Deterioration
Why are the major highways more deteriorated than West Philadelphia in general? Many factors are involved.

• Decline in vehicular traffic - The dominance of West Philadelphia's major highways as travel routes was eroded first by the railroads and later by the interstate highways. The interstate highway system was not foreseen in the early 1900's when most of West Philadelphia's communities were developed. The modern expressway system ensures that roads like Baltimore Avenue and Haverford Avenue are now used solely by local traffic. This fundamental change has had negative impacts on property values, commercial potential and land use along the historic highway corridors.
• Decline in the district's total population - The 1990 population of West Philadelphia is only two-thirds of the 1950 total population. The reduction in population has weakened the demand for commercial services that traditionally have been located along the major highways of West Philadelphia. Demand for the housing that exists along these streets has also been weakened.
• Changing patterns of travel and mobility - When West Philadelphia's neighborhoods were originally developed, most residents walked to the nearest stores to do their shopping. This was the time when West Philadelphia's corner stores and shopping districts flourished. Today, the situation is totally different. Most families own cars and can travel to an almost unlimited number of shopping destinations. Far less disposable income is spent within the neighborhood than was originally the case. This has further weakened the demand for the retail establishments that occupy many of the buildings along the major highways.
• Parking and security problems - Properties along these highways have become less attractive as business locations because off-street parking is so scarce. Where parking lots have been added to the neighborhood commercial districts, they often are not well used because of concerns about security and safety. Most of the shopping districts were originally designed for pedestrian and transit access and not for the automobile.
• Predominance of small storefronts - The storefronts that line the major highways are usually 20 feet wide at the maximum. Generally, each storefront has a separate owner. While this pattern of development is ideal for the window-shopper, it is in conflict with one of the major changes in the retail industry -- the increasing dominance of larger chain stores that require more square footage than was originally provided along these streets. This makes the neighborhood retail districts, such as the ones along Lancaster Avenue and 52nd Street, less attractive for new commercial investment.
• The reduced size of neighborhood commercial districts - West Philadelphia's major streets have traditionally been the shopping streets, but all of the factors mentioned above have reduced the demand for commercial services in the communities. The neighborhood retail districts have gradually become clustered in fewer blocks, leaving many storefronts vacant on the blocks located outside of those clusters. Fifty-Second Street is a good example of this. Fifty years ago, retail was the primary use on 21 of the 25 blocks of 52nd Street in West Philadelphia. Today, however, retail use predominates on only 10 or 12 blocks. What has happened to the blocks that were abandoned by the retailers? The most noticeable change on those blocks is increased vacancy and blight.
• Predominance of relatively large homes - Some sections along the major corridors are residential, and the housing here is generally larger than the typical homes in West Philadelphia. Notable examples are Baltimore Avenue, Parkside and Girard Avenues and 52nd Street. Much of the housing along these corridors is three or four stories in height. This type of housing is more expensive for individual families to maintain and to heat and is therefore more susceptible to disinvestment and abandonment. In addition, the City's housing rehabilitation programs are best suited to smaller row homes, so the buildings along the major highways have usually been bypassed by the rehabilitation efforts.
• Multi-family land use and absentee ownership - Many of the housing units along the highway corridors are apartments. They are located above stores, in houses that were converted into multi-family properties, and in numerous apartment buildings. Assuming that the apartments are well maintained, multi-family use is an appropriate element of the busy, urban atmosphere that has traditionally existed along the corridors. However, investors are less likely to invest in maintenance, especially under weakened market conditions resulting from population decline and reduced traffic volumes.
• Land use conflicts and nuisance uses - There are many bars, taverns, liquor stores and beer take-out establishments along West Philadelphia's major highways. The loitering and noise that accompanies these kinds of uses creates environmental and safety problems for shoppers and residents. These locations become less attractive as sites for businesses and housing, resulting in an increase in vacancy along the major highways. In other areas, auto repair shops create a noisy and unattractive environment for living and shopping. Market Street has a somewhat different problem in this regard: the structure of the Market-Frankford El cloaks the sidewalks in shadows, increasing safety risks and discouraging pedestrian activity.

New retail developments proposed for locations outside the retail core areas are not encouraged. The Planning Commission will implement this in two ways: (1) by opposing variance applications that would permit retail uses outside the core at hearings before the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and (2) through the rezoning of these areas to limit retail uses to the core of each commercial strip.

The sections of the corridors that contain distinctive structures should be targeted for historic preservation. The Parkside Avenue and 60th Street corridors have special historical significance; and portions of the Parkside Avenue and Girard Avenue corridors are located in the Parkside National Register Historic District. Rehabilitation should be the goal in areas such as these.

Early in this century, when most of West Philadelphia's neighborhoods and retail corridors were developed, retail establishments occupied the ground floor of two or three story buildings. Living quarters were situated above the store. Gradually, much of the living space on the upper floors has become vacant or was converted to storage space. Returning this space to residential use is recommended as part of the strategy for Corridors in Decline.

Some of the corridors are particularly well suited for mixed-use occupancy of storefront buildings. In West Philadelphia, the retail core areas that are ideal for residential use above the retail stores are located on portions of Lancaster Avenue and South 60th Street. Upper-floor residential use should be successful in these specific areas because of favorable architectural, aesthetic and locational characteristics.

Re-creating this traditional type of urban environment is the goal of a new commercial revitalization initiative being planned by the City's retail development agency. The Philadelphia Commercial Development Corporation's (PCDC) new program, called The Philadelphia Company Store, would add residential development incentives to the City's ongoing neighborhood commercial revitalization effort. The Planning Commission supports this program concept and suggests that Lancaster Avenue and South 60th Street are the sections of West Philadelphia that should be targeted for early implementation of the program.

Portions of the corridors, outside of retail core areas and historic preservation zones, should be redeveloped through the use of the power of eminent domain to facilitate property acquisition. Redevelopment is the cornerstone of the strategy for the Corridors in Decline. West Philadelphia's corridors require this type of aggressive action in order to improve conditions, and the redevelopment process should only be utilized in the most blighted sections of the corridors.

Some of the locations proposed for redevelopment are good investment opportunities for commercial developers: examples are 52nd & Lancaster, 63rd & Lansdowne, and 52nd & Baltimore. Non-profit and community-based organizations should also be encouraged to prepare redevelopment proposals for sites along these corridors. It is recommended that the Redevelopment Authority assist the developers, where requested, by utilizing the power of eminent domain to acquire properties for which a developer has a specific proposal. This type of assistance, where the Authority's administrative costs are repaid by the developer, is called a "non-assisted project."

Where deterioration is more pervasive, publicly-initiated redevelopment is recommended. Here the power of eminent domain would be utilized by the Redevelopment Authority to acquire properties which are then offered for sale to private redevelopers either "as is" for rehabilitation, or as cleared sites for new construction.

Reuse Alternatives
Identifying the types of new development that will be appropriate along the corridors requires that two planning objectives be considered: (1) the need to modernize sections of the corridors that are functionally obsolete; and (2) the need to minimize competition with the retail uses that occupy the core areas of the corridors. There are many examples of new facilities that will meet both of these objectives.

Full-service family restaurants are needed in many West Philadelphia communities, and they should be located along the major corridors. Outpatient medical clinics and medical offices will benefit from the public transit routes that use the corridors. Social service centers, treatment centers and large residential facilities for people with special needs also should have good access to transit; these facilities will be more acceptable to communities when they are located on the major streets instead of on the quieter residential streets. Day care centers are also recommended, and the extra land that is needed for play space is often available along the corridors.

Passive parks and other types of open space would be acceptable at many locations, and open plazas could be built at major transit stops. These type of facilities should be maintained by community organizations or business groups; or they can be "adopted" and maintained by a nearby hospital or school. Parking lots at transit stations can function as "park and ride" facilities. Public parking may also be desired in the neighborhoods that have a shortage of on-street parking. A note of caution: past experience with public parking in the neighborhoods indicates that many parking lots are not well used because of security problems, and the parking lots often become an eyesore and a nuisance to the neighbors. Communities must develop a plan for safety, security and upkeep when considering this redevelopment option.

New construction of multi-family housing, including nursing homes, group homes and residences for the elderly, are also generally appropriate along the major corridors. Populating these major streets would have the benefit of creating a new customer base for the retail and service establishments located there. It is not recommended that single-family homes be built with frontage along the corridors because of the noise and activity that often exists. New single-family housing would be more successful if it fronted on the adjacent residential streets, as shown below.

Certain uses are clearly inappropriate to the task of renewing the "corridors in decline." Additional bars, taverns and beer take-out establishments should be aggressively discouraged. These types of businesses already exist along the corridors in large numbers, and they are often a source of complaints from nearby businesses and residents.

• Improvements to the Market-Frankford Elevated Structure

Can this landmark structure become a more positive feature for West Philadelphia? The Planning Commission believes that it can, through painting, lighting, redesigned stations and new traffic controls. A bright, new and creative graphics scheme should be designed and put into place along the entire length of the structure. Architectural lighting and non-glaring sidewalk lighting should be integrated into the entire structure. The City should join SEPTA in seeking ways to soften the impact of the El structure. Concepts that could be pursued include the acquisition and demolition of adjacent vacant properties and the creation of landscaped entrance plazas at selected stations.

Some of the Elevated stations should be rehabilitated. The 46th Street and 60th Street Stations are most in need of improvement. The escalators at these stations are no longer functioning; these escalators should be replaced with more reliable equipment.

The 60th Street Station was rehabilitated during the 1970's. Unfortunately, its dark plexiglass exterior is not in keeping with the older structures in the area; and the dark color scheme adds to the shadowy, unsafe feeling that is created by the structure in general. The 60th Street station should be redesigned once again, using the 63rd Street Station as an example. The attractively restored 63rd Street Station was designed to reflect the El's original appearance.

Traffic control measures are also needed along the route of the El structure. The Planning Commission recommends that a traffic engineering study should be undertaken by the Streets Department for Market Street. The study should address the unique traffic problems that relate to the presence of the El structure and its vertical supports: dangerous lane-switching between the support columns, left turn movements and double-parking in the outer lanes. It is anticipated that new signalization, traffic signage, lighting and parking enforcement measures are needed to improve traffic flow and traffic safety beneath the El structure.

The responsibility for funding the various improvements to the Market Street corridor is shared by three public entities: PennDOT, the City and SEPTA. Currently, SEPTA is evaluating different options for reconstructing the elevated tracks and extending the life span of the El in West Philadelphia. One of the options is the conversion of the El to a subway. The estimated cost for a subway is in the range of $500 to $600 million, a figure that would appear to be prohibitive in light of the long list of transit infrastructure repairs that are necessary throughout the SEPTA system and the relatively limited amount of available funding. Instead of endorsing the subway option, the Planning Commission views SEPTA's plans for investment as a timely opportunity for implementation of our recommendations for aesthetic and traffic improvements along the route of the El. The Planning Commission will coordinate implementation as part of its role in preparing the annual Capital Program for the City of Philadelphia.

• Aesthetic improvements along Lancaster Avenue

• Zoning Policy for 63rd Street corridor

The strategy for this corridor is to control the trend towards conversions. Zoning remapping is recommended for neighborhoods along the 63rd Street corridor (Overbrook and Carroll Park) in order to better control land use. Because building conversions have already been so numerous along 63rd Street, the Planning Commission should not support applications for additional use variances (involving existing residential buildings) that are made to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.