Some Cedar Park residents don't like SEPTA's new route for the 64 bus through West Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Residents in the Cedar Park section of West Philadelphia are upset with SEPTA's plans to move a bus route past their homes.

As part of a massive bus route redesign approved in May, SEPTA proposed changes for the Route 64 bus, shifting it from 49th Street to 48th Street below Baltimore Avenue. At Thursday's SEPTA board meeting, residents including Denis Cochran-Fikes spoke against the move.

"The route now is working well," Cochran-Fikes said. "It accommodates the commercial area at 49th and Baltimore, and I think it would be a shame if we rerouted the bus away from that."

Resident Joyce White said running Route 64 through the 800 block of South 48th Street would decrease the quality of life. "The safety of our blocks where many seniors and families with young children live will likely decline," she said.

Children who live on 49th Street choose to play on 48th Street because of the buses and trolleys currently running on 49th, resident Ellyn Sapper told the board.

"We host block parties for 49th Street because they cannot block their street off because of the trolley routes," she said. "If you put the 64 bus on our street, we won't be able to do that either."

Steve Abrams, block captain of the 4800 block of Warrington Avenue, gathered petition signatures to present to SEPTA.

"The vast majority of people who live on our block are very much against having the buses on our block," Abrams said.

SEPTA's Chief Planning and Strategy Officer Jody Holton explained that the route was changed to improve safety by eliminating a sharp left turn off Baltimore Avenue.

"We proposed rerouting the 64 via Warrington and 48th Street to eliminate the difficult turns between Baltimore Avenue and 49th Street," Holton said. "The new alignment will allow the route to operate straight through the intersection [with] Baltimore up 48th Street."

Holton says they also have issues with drivers going around buses when they are waiting to make a left. That, he says, creates a very unsafe condition.
Holton says in the coming days SEPTA will go out to meet residents in the neighborhood to discuss the changes.