In my previous post I spoke of one way
in which the fundamental reality of Transportation has begun to flow in a
positive direction for Norristown/Bridgeport, Pennsylvania. This is the under-construction “Lafayette
Street Expansion Project,” the best news to arrive at this point along the
Schuylkill River in quite some time. I
concluded with an introduction to my next subject, how Norristown can take
advantage of the quite favorable condition of its most fundamental reality, The
River, the very reason the town was built in the first place. I will flesh out that subject in my next
post, but first I need to clear up some questions involving the relationship
between limited-access highways and town revival.
The central point of my introductory post in this series about
Norristown/Bridgeport was the claim that upcoming access to a limited-access
highway could be the needed spark for revival.
I referenced the Conshohockens to support my point. Those two neighboring boroughs do so in
spades, as they connect to not just one such highway, but at the intersection
of two, and the result has been a remarkable influx of both businesses and
residences.
So far, so good. But two
questions should occur to anyone following my theme. First, wasn’t Pottstown the target of a new
limited-access highway some years ago?
It doesn’t seem to have helped much.
Why Not? Second, and more
broadly, how do I explain Phoenixville?
The Borough thrives in the absence of any “access to transportation” as
I have defined it. So how important is
“access to transportation,” really?
These are pretty much the two polar ends of critique, and both raise
valid questions. I have already
addressed both subjects, in diametrically opposite ways. I can explain the first, but admit to having
but a few clues as to the second. That’s
why I’ll discuss Phoenixville first.
“Access to transportation” does not guarantee revival, and as
Phoenixville demonstrates, is not even necessary. It is, however, the event most likely to set a
revival in motion. The revival of our
old industrial towns can have many sources (although “industry” isn’t one of
them), a fact that has been amply demonstrated already and continues to be. More fundamentally, I also contend that no
one component—even “access to transportation”—is sufficient by itself; they
must interact in a positive manner. That
was the final message of my previous post.
I must also admit that I have decidedly mixed feelings about gaining a
town’s connections to a limited-access highway.
There is much to be gained, but much is going to be lost. The Conshohockens demonstrate why I am
concerned, as old Conshohocken and its long-time residents are being
overwhelmed by the influx of new people, whose view of the borough and their
responsibility toward it differ markedly.
“Old” Conshohocken knew what it was and was proud of it. Can a new consensus self-image of Conshohocken
emerge, and what would it be? Still, as
I observed previously, five of the boroughs upriver—Norristown, Bridgeport,
Royersford, Spring City and Pottstown—would love to have even a small version
of Conshohocken’s problems if they replace some of the current ones.
But Phoenixville is literally a case of
its own, with a revival that has nothing to do with a new connection to one or
more limited-access highways. Nobody
moves to Phoenixville because of its access to Southeastern Pennsylvania’s
network of major roads, but they have been moving nonetheless.
I have published a series of posts—some of them guest posts—about the
Borough’s revival, all beginning with that same question: Why? That’s because I don’t know why
Phoenixville—alone among the towns on the lower Schuylkill River—has enjoyed a
locally-based revival. Thus I seek
answers from residents who have experienced the change. The response has been excellent, but I am by
now means done; there is so much more to learn.
I will return to this subject, and continue to invite your thoughts and
comments on this fascinating issue. I
will address it specifically during my talk in the Phoenixville Public Library
(co-sponsored by the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area) on Monday,
April 11, and look forward to hearing from those who have actually lived
through the process.
Potttstown’s situation is much easier to explain. In fact, I already have, in a post published
on February 20, 2014. I include the link
below, but here is my basic point: The “Pottstown Expressway” does not demonstrate
the failure of a highway connection to revive a town, because aiding Pottstown
was not its intended purpose, as its design demonstrates conclusively. Although the new highway was pitched as a
lifeline to an ailing borough, that was just for public consumption, as public
taxes would pay for it. The highway was designed
from what me might call a broader viewpoint.
It was the final component of a new U.S. Route #422, to replace an
overburdened Germantown Pike. The whole
point was to bypass the towns that Germantown Pike had always served, Pottstown
being only the largest of them. Its true
purpose was to provide access to the land between King of Prussia and
Pottstown, first for developers and then their customers and their customers’
customers. That stretch contained a
substantial amount of “buildable land” back then, much of which has been since built
on. The new U.S. Route #422 did the job
it was designed to do, as everyone who sits gridlocked on the highway during
rush hour(s) should understand. Keep in
mind also that the road was not even designed to connect to Pottstown, but to the
much older “Pottstown Bypass,” making it easier to avoid the town altogether. My post about the “Pottstown Expressway” will
tell you what you need to know, but more about public marketing than about
roads reviving old towns.
The new Lafayette Street/Road, by contrast, is much shorter. Although it will foster development along the
stretch of Plymouth Township that it crosses before it gets to Norristown, and
maybe even northern Conshohocken, new construction in Norristown was its true
goal, unlike that of the “Pottstown Expressway.” Even more important, as I began to discuss
last time, is the fact that the new road goes right into downtown Norristown,
terminating close to the riverfront. I
will return to that subject in my next post, and discuss why that is so
important.
Here is the link to the full post about the "Pottstown Expressway":
No comments:
Post a Comment