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Nancy Silverman, owner of Ants Pants Café, 2212 South St., diligently worked behind the counter, while co-owner Elizabeth Fleming stood outside in the crisp fall weather handing out cider and hot chocolate to passers-by.
The café has entered its sixth year of business, and has already established a regular clientele within the area. While Silverman explained that her business has not been adversely affected by the South Street Bridge’s ongoing construction over the past two years, she hopes that its reopening will draw an influx of students from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as bring back customers forced to change their routines during the 23-month period.
“I didn’t necessarily feel it when [the bridge] closed, but I’m hoping it will be awesome now that it’s open,” Silverman said.
Between 4 and 7 p.m., 23 restaurants, coffee shops and corner stores participated in the neighborhood celebration at the Grays Ferry Triangles — triangles of land that form where Grays Ferry Avenue crosses South and Bainbridge streets — by offering at least one item for $1 among other specials. This followed pedestrians, bicyclists, and skaters of all ages crowding the South Street Bridge Saturday afternoon in celebration of its reopening a month ahead of schedule.
Other vendors in the area have not faired nearly as well when the project was under construction. Parviz Yathrebi, proprietor of Woven Treasures, an oriental rug store at 2220 South St., noticed a significant decrease in patronage since the bridge closed to traffic Dec. 8, 2008.
“Initially, I didn’t think it would affect me so much, but later on I found out really the street became a dead end,” Yathrebi said. “And the community around here ended up being the only customers.”
Business owners like Joanne Kniele of Sophisticated Seconds, 2204 South St., and Ossafa Barouki of Olde Towne and Sanna’s, 2301 Grays Ferry Ave., estimated customer loss to fall between 40 and 50 percent.
“The South Street bridge is very important to everyone,” Barouki said.
In particular, Barouki cited the decrease in students from University City and workers from the nearby hospitals. While the restaurant, which offers Mediterranean cuisine alongside American fare, still held on to loyal West Philadelphia patrons, Barouki hopes that the reopened bridge will allow for much faster delivery to regular customers.
“I used to have one or two drivers in the morning,” Barouki said. “Now we have three drivers … just to make it on time.”
The $67.4 million project was designed with input from numerous meetings dating back to ’06 between city officials and residents who formed the South Street Bridge Coalition.
The current infrastructure is the third bridge to span 27th to 34th streets. The previous 86-year-old bridge was deemed “structurally deficient” by PennDOT. Improvements include sidewalks that are two feet wider, six-foot-by-four-inch wide bicycle lanes and signaled crossing at the Schuylkill River Trail. Connections to the future trail extensions, as well as the tower’s decorative glass, LED lighting and pedestrian overlooks have not yet been created.
“This is a bridge to somewhere and from somewhere. And that somewhere is Philadelphia,” Mayor Michael Nutter said during Saturday’s ceremony.
Once the celebratory speeches were over and the large red ribbon stretched across the road was cut, spectators joined a procession that traveled eastwards along a balloon-bedecked South Street.
As the crowd traveled to the beat of the West Powelton Steppers Drill Team, that “somewhere” quickly evolved into the dozens of businesses participating in an after-party signaling the importance of the bridge’s reopening to neighborhood industry.
The 1,800-foot long bridge reopened to automobile traffic Saturday night.
The community also hopes to work toward a number of other improvements. The South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA), in partnership with the Center City Resident’s Association, has developed a concept known as the South X Schuylkill Plan. It spans from Lombard Street to the CSX railroad tracks at Wash. Ave., and from 21st Street to the Schuylkill River. The community groups hope the developers will consult with residents’ wishes before putting projects into play.
“For instance, not just putting parking lots in and hiding interesting streetscape, but working with the city on infrastructure,” Kristin Davidson, a Center City Resident’s Association board member, said.
The Triangles on Grays Ferry Avenue Gateway Project, a similar venture being organized by SOSNA, aims to improve the Grays Ferry Triangles. The current configuration of the area creates a safety hazard for pedestrians and drivers, but SOSNA hopes to eliminate these problems, as well as to provide aesthetic and accessible public spaces to neighborhood residents.
The project, first developed about five years ago when the City Planning Commission evaluated the area in ’05, envisions closing off the intersection created by 23rd Street, Grays Ferry Avenue and South Street, and turning it into a public plaza. The implementation of the project will involve looking at the concerns of people who live and work in the area, to ensure that everyone’s needs will be met, Andrew Dalzell, SOSNA’s program coordinator, said.
“And how specifically that gets done remains to be seen, but the project involves doing a traffic study, looking at how traffic flows around that intersection,” he said, as well as finding out “whether there might be a better, smarter way to reroute traffic.”
Of course, the first example of this active community development begins with the South Street Bridge reopening. The city estimates more than 30,000 people a day will utilize the South Street Bridge and hopefully contribute to the economic development of the communities it connects.
While some business owners regretted that the city did not move sooner to rebuild the bridge, overall expectations were positive.
“Our business has definitely tenfolded since we opened the doors,” Lindsay Duggan, founder of Girl.Bike.Dog, a corner store at 625 S. 23rd St. that specializes in messenger bags and dog gear, said the day of the reopening. SPR
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