Upper Darby and SEPTA officials gathered today with other stakeholders to update the community on construction plans for a new, state-of-the-art parking garage at the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby.

SEPTA also used the event to announce that the first in a series of pre-construction open houses will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 23 from 4 pm. To 7 pm. In the Grand Hall of 69th Street Transportation Center. The session will provide residents and SEPTA customers the opportunity to learn more about the project and service adjustments, including changes to bus boarding locations, pedestrian flow and parking, that will be in effect during construction.

“69th Street Transportation Center is an invaluable asset for our residents and businesses,” said Upper Darby Township Mayor Thomas N. Micozzie. “The garage project will improve access to public transportation and build on our efforts to invigorate the 69th Street Business District. I am pleased that the project is moving forward and that SEPTA is being proactive in reaching out to residents and riders.”

69th Street is SEPTA’s largest transportation center, serving nearly 35,000 riders on an average weekday. It provides connections to the Market-Frankford Line, Trolley Routes 101 and 102, the Norristown High Speed Line and 18 bus routes.

“Tens of thousands of riders connect through 69th Street each day to employment, healthcare and other important destinations in Delaware County and Philadelphia,” said SEPTA General Manager Jeffrey D. Knueppel. “The project is now out to bid, and with so many customers relying on this critical hub, we wanted to begin the process of preparing customers for the upcoming work.”

The 69th Street Transportation Center Garage project is a partnership between SEPTA and Upper Darby to meet the needs of growing transit ridership, as well as support local business and economic growth. The multi-story precast concrete garage is proposed for the northwest corner of Chatham and Market Streets and will be built overtop the existing bus berths and taxi stand. The parking garage will contain 431 parking spaces, including 11 ADA-accessible spaces. As part of the project, there will be an additional surface lot containing 89 spaces adjacent to the new garage. Overall, the project will increase parking capacity from 182 spaces to 520 spaces at the multi-modal facility.

Improvements will also include:

• New street-level bus berths that will provide convenient, off-street service points and bus staging areas that do not interfere with traffic movement
• Accessible walkway between terminals
• Stormwater management system
• 89-space surface parking lot
• New landscaping
• Accessible pedestrian bridge connecting parking garage to 69th Street Transportation Center
• Installation of new Audio/Visual PA system
• New safety and security systems, including CCVT, fire alarm and emergency call boxes

For more information about this or other SEPTA projects, visit https://www.septa.org/rebuilding/.