Wally Wise Guy's Wise Words of the Week: Travel Safely During the SEPTA Service Interruption

The following important service information contains useful travel tips to assist riders as Bus, Subway, and Trolley service is discontinued.

SEPTA reports the following services will not run:

• Broad Street Line and Broad-Ridge Spur
• Market-Frankford Line
• All City Transit bus, trolley and trackless trolley routes
• Frontier Division bus routes
  

The following services will run:

• Regional Rail
• Train service will be the best choice for travel in and around Philadelphia
• Suburban Transit
• Bus Routes 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109-114, 115, 117-120, 123 & 125; the Route 101 & 102 Trolley; the Norristown High Speed Line; and contract routes 204, 205, 306, 310 and 314
• Route service will change for those buses that normally travel into the City.
• LUCY (Loop through University City)
• Green and Gold Loop service will operate regular routing from 30th Street Station to selected University City destinations
• CCT Connect
• Regular service will operate for registered ADA and Shared Ride customers. There may be some delays due to increased demand and local street traffic
  

For SEPTA’s full Service Interruption Guide and other related information please visit www.septa.org/sip. To reach SEPTA Customer Service call 215-580-7800 (TDD/TYY 215-580-7853.

The City of Philadelphia has relaxed some parking restrictions during this transportation emergency. For more information, download the list and map of Relaxed Parking Regulation Locations.

City Activates Emergency Operations Center for SEPTA Service Interruption

City of Philadelphia Mayor Michael A. Nutter activated the City’s Emergency Operations Center at 5:30 a.m. this morning to monitor and coordinate the City’s planning and response efforts due to SEPTA service interruptions in Philadelphia. Representatives from the Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Fire Department, Streets Department, Licenses and Inspections, Fleet Management, Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management, Philadelphia Parking Authority, Pennsylvania State Police, PennDOT, School District of Philadelphia, Delaware Valley Health Council, Center City District and SEPTA are staffing the EOC.

The following important service information contains useful travel tips to assist riders as Bus, Subway, and Trolley service is discontinued.

SEPTA reports the following services will not run:

• Broad Street Line and Broad-Ridge Spur
• Market-Frankford Line
• All City Transit bus, trolley and trackless trolley routes
• Frontier Division bus routes
  

The following services will run:

• Regional Rail
• Train service will be the best choice for travel in and around Philadelphia
• Suburban Transit
• Bus Routes 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109-114, 115, 117-120, 123 & 125; the Route 101 & 102 Trolley; the Norristown High Speed Line; and contract routes 204, 205, 306, 310 and 314
• Route service will change for those buses that normally travel into the City.
• LUCY (Loop through University City)
• Green and Gold Loop service will operate regular routing from 30th Street Station to selected University City destinations
• CCT Connect
• Regular service will operate for registered ADA and Shared Ride customers. There may be some delays due to increased demand and local street traffic
  

For SEPTA’s full Service Interruption Guide and other related information please visit www.septa.org/sip.

To reach SEPTA Customer Service call 215-580-7800 (TDD/TYY 215-580-7853. Extended hours will be in effect beginning at 6:00 a.m.

The City of Philadelphia has relaxed some parking restrictions during this transportation emergency. To download the list and map of locations, visit www.phila.gov/ready.

Normal parking regulations will be suspended in these locations only for the duration of the transportation emergency. All other regulations will be strictly enforced, except that vehicles will be permitted to stop briefly in bus zones to pick up or discharge passengers.

Managing Director Camille Cates Barnett has indicated that shuttle bus service from several remote parking lots and pedestrian pickup points to the Municipal Services Building is available for City employees (with City identification), employees of various Authorities and jurors. The parking sites for City employees opened at 6:30 a.m. These sites include Delaware and Spring Garden, 8th and Poplar, and Belmont and South Concourse Drive. Passenger transport vehicles will start at 6:30 a.m. and stop at 9:30 a.m. Evening pick up will start at 3:00 p.m. and stop at 7:00 p.m. There will be 12 vehicles at Delaware and Spring Garden; six will go up Spring Garden and six will Go Up Broad Street. Eight vehicles will be at Memorial Hall or Belmont and South Concourse Drive. Five vehicles will be located at Poplar Street.
Mayor Nutter encourages residents to be cautious and patient when traveling and asks them to leave early and get a head start when traveling. Residents should consider car pooling or bicycling to and from work. Mayor Nutter also reminds residents to vote early today as part of their civic duty.

Philadelphia public schools are closed today due to Election Day.

To get the latest information during the SEPTA service interruption, sign up for text alerts from ReadyNotifyPA at www.phila.gov/ready or following the Office of Emergency Management on its social media networking sites: Twitter, MySpace, FaceBook, LinkedIn, or Blogspot also at www.phila.gov/ready.

Due to SEPTA Service Interruption, Parking Regulations Relaxed in Certain Areas

The City of Philadelphia has relaxed some parking regulations during the transportation emergency. For more information, download a list and map of the Relaxed Parking Regulation Locations.

Please note: Normal parking regulations will be suspended in these locations only for the duration of the transportation emergency. All other regulations will be strictly enforced, except that vehicles will be permitted to stop briefly in the bus zones to pick up or discharge passengers.

SEPTA Service Interruption in Effect

Transportation Workers Union, Local 234 announced a work stoppage as of 3 a.m, November 3.

SEPTA is prepared with an alternate service plan for their customers, but asks for patience and understanding as some of their services become unavailable and others that are running may experience heavier than usual customer use.

For SEPTA's full Service Interruption Guide and other related information, please visit www.septa.org/sip. Information is also available through SEPTA Customer Service by calling 215-580-7800.

Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks

Daylight savings time begins on November 1 and the Philadelphia Office of Emergency Management (OEM) reminds the public to refresh emergency supplies when changing your clocks with its “Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks” campaign.

“Make sure you have all of the necessary emergency supplies in your kits, and that the food, water and batteries for radios and flashlights haven’t expired,” said Deputy Managing Director for Emergency Management MaryAnn E. Tierney. “If you haven’t put together a family preparedness kit for your home or a Go Bag of emergency supplies if you need to evacuate, now is the time to get ready.”

Be sure that you have at least a three-day supply of bottled water and non-perishable foods. You should also include any essential medications for each member of your family. Remember to include supplies for your pets, as well. And as always, don’t forget to check the batteries in your smoke alarms! As we prepare for the arrival of winter, make sure you and your loved ones are prepared for emergencies.

To learn how to be prepared for any kind of an emergency and for a list of supplies for your family preparedness kit and Go Bag, visit www.phila.gov/ready. You can also stay informed about following PhilaOEM on Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter and YouTube.

SEPTA Announces Service Interruption Guide for Possible Strike

Most Service In Philadelphia Would Stop

With the possibility of a transit strike this weekend, SEPTA is releasing a Service Interruption Guide to help customers prepare for possible disruptions to their commutes.

Transport Workers Union Local 234 threatened to strike by the end of the week if it has not reached a contract agreement with SEPTA for City Transit Division workers. Negotiations are ongoing, and SEPTA remains hopeful a deal will be reached and a strike averted.

A strike would bring most SEPTA services within Philadelphia to a stop, including all City Transit subway, bus and trolley service. Most bus and trolley service in Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware and Chester counties would continue and follow regular schedules. Frontier Division buses would not operate in the event of a strike.

Regional Rail service will also run in the event of a strike, and extra service on certain lines may be added to accommodate additional riders. Regional Rail customers are advised to purchase tickets well in advance of their trips, in as Regional Rail service will see an influx of thousands of riders.

The following services would not run in the event of a TWU Local 234 strike:

• Broad Street Line and Broad-Ridge Spur
• Market-Frankford Line
• All City Transit bus, trolley and trackless trolley routes
• Frontier Division bus routes

The following services would run in the event of a TWU Local 234 strike:

• Regional Rail
• Victory Division buses, the Route 101 & 102 Trolley Lines, and the Norristown High Speedline, with modifications for buses into Philadelphia
• LUCY service (Green and Gold), with regular routing from 30th Street Station to select University City destinations
• Paratransit CCT Connect service for registered ADA and Shared Ride customers

For SEPTA’s full Service Interruption Guide and other related information please visit www.septa.org/strike. Information is also available through SEPTA Customer Service by calling 215-580-7800.

UPenn Alert and Outdoor Siren System Test

The University of Pennsylvania Division of Public Safety (DPS) and the Office of Information Systems and Computing will conduct their annual test of the UPennAlert Emergency Notification System, in conjunction with a campus-wide Shelter-in-Place awareness drill, on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 beginning at 3:30 p.m.

The test will be conducted on all the delivery methods of the UPennAlert System, including personal electronic devices, the DPS website, and the Penn Siren Outdoor System.

The Outdoor System will emit a 15-second siren alert, along with a voice message that indicates that this is a test exercise.

This annual test is required for Penn to comply with the Philadelphia Fire Code and the federal Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

More information on the UPenn Alert System can be found at http://www.publicsafety.upenn.edu/PennReady/upennalert.asp