Penn wants to build bridges to Center City, but Philadelphia will have to destroy one first.
At a conference held at World Cafe Live last week, University President Amy Gutmann said that part of Penn's east campus plan includes making the Walnut and South Street bridges "more attractive and functional."
As it turns out, that means shutting down the South Street bridge - which has been called structurally unsound - for a year and a half while the city rebuilds it, and many are concerned about the potential effects of the project.
The planned reconstruction of the South Street Bridge would cut off a major route to and from important medical facilities such as the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvanian and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Kevin Mahoney, a spokesman for HUP, said that many University and Health System staff are frustrated by potential traffic snarls.
"But," he added, "the South Street Bridge is in need of immediate replacement before an accident occurs."
And Penn officials say there's been plenty of warning.
"The city has been planning this bridge replacement project for a few years," said Mark Kocent, principal planner at Penn's Office of the University Architect.
However, some at last week's conference said that they were not convinced that enough has been done to prepare for the inconveniences of such construction, and many asked questions of Gutmann about the logistics of the construction.
She replied only that the construction is a necessary step.
Mahoney said that HUP plans to expand its shuttle system to help people get to and from University City. Additionally, HUP has requested police presence at key intersections during peak travel times to help emergency vehicles more easily access the hospitals.
"The Health System in a meeting with the city on July 18 . received assurances from the City Traffic Engineer's Office that emergency vehicles will be able to get to the hospitals," Mahoney said.
Kocent added that the University as a whole is also communicating with the city about the planned construction.
"We have been working with the city and many area stakeholders in mitigating the anticipated traffic concerns," Kocent said.
