Philadelphia is preparing for huge crowds during Pope Francis’ visit in late September. The city’s population could triple the weekend of September 26th, and Mayor Michael Nutter says that the city’s public transit system will hit full capacity.
“This will be the largest event in the City of Philadelphia in modern history,” Nutter said at a press conference this week about public transportation options during the visit.
According to Plan Philly:
Public transportation and charter buses alike will likely drop passengers off long distances from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, where Pope Francis will celebrate a Mass from the Art Museum steps.
Nutter warned travelers and residents alike to “be prepared to walk at least a few miles or more.”
Lots of road closures will render the likes of Uber un-disruptive. Plan Philly did some fun charter bus math to determine those group delivery vehicles “lined end-to-end … would stretch 42.6 miles, roughly the distance from Center City to Princeton, New Jersey.”
The Mayor is already urging Philadelphia residents to plan for changes in weekend commuting, as rail schedules on SEPTA, PATCO, Amtrak and NJ Transit will be altered.
SEPTA’s offering a special three-day pass for $10, but to double its workday capacity, Plan Philly notes, the agency “will reduce the number of stations on [lines] from the usual 282 to just 31, plus a few to-be-determined drop-off locations in Center City.”
Officials are also expecting more air travel into Philadelphia, so business travelers will likely encounter Thanksgiving-like conditions.
How to get around may be top of mind for many, but as NJ.com reports, around 100 homeless people live along the Ben Franklin Parkway, a main thoroughfare where the Pope will hold an outdoor mass. Local Catholic Church officials and nonprofits have been meeting to make plans for their inevitable displacement.
Jenn Stanley is a freelance journalist, essayist and independent producer living in Chicago. She has an M.S. from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
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