The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Germantown Avenue project promises revitalization for the streets and as a starting point for doing so for the neighborhood. The project is slated to run through November 2009. However, when Katie and I hit the streets, many people seem either pessimistic about the project or weary of the construction process. This proved to be especially true for the people without cars or private modes of transportation. SEPTA’s Route 23 bus turns off and back on the avenue, adding a slight bit of inconvenience for commuters and a lot of grief for the business owners on that strip.
The team began trying to get interviews from construction workers or PennDOT officials. Our pursuit concluded with the promise of a detailed e-mail, giving facts and answers to frequently asked questions about the project. We then proceeded to seek an interview for a representative for Gaffney Fabrics, a business on the outskirts of the construction project itself. While in there, we struck gold as we were approached by a business owner, informing us of her story of how the construction has led her to close her business altogether as patrons had, what she described to be, no possible way to get to her store. This proved to be true, as the project disallowed us a viable vantage point to even take a picture of the shop itself.
As the semester progresses, it is safe to assume that this project will either be a factor or a focal point in a fair percentage of our reports, as Germantown Avenue is by far the heart of our assigned neighborhood.
SIDE NOTE: Give well wishes for Raymond's father, Raymond Sr. A resident of the Germantown neighborhood, he is currently in the hospital.
By: Raymond Andrews & Katie Annesley
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