SEPTA officially marked the end of a two-year renovation project at its Allen Lane Regional Rail station with a ribbon cutting ceremony. SEPTA General Manager Joseph Casey, elected officials and community leaders celebrated the improvements made to the historic station, which serves SEPTA’s Chestnut Hill West Line.
“The completion of Allen Lane Station was as anticipated by our passengers and the community as it was by SEPTA,” said Casey. “We thank everyone for their patience during the construction process. The end result was clearly worth the wait.”
Allen Lane Station dates back to 1885. The improvements project, which began in March 2009, incorporated the station’s 19th century character while adding amenities such as a state-of-the-art Audio Visual Public Address System and making the station fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This historic reconstruction earned SEPTA a 2011 Preservation Achievement Award from the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia.
Renovations cost $7.6 million and included installing new accessible ramps and high level platforms; restoring the historic pedestrian bridge, which dates to 1912; reconstructing the historic canopies and shelters; repainting the station building and wood detail using period colors; improving station amenities, including adding new benches and trash cans; installing new signage, upgraded lighting and a new Audio-Visual Public Address system; constructing a retaining wall; improving site drainage; and adding new landscaping.
“Investing in our communities by making mass transit accessible to all of our neighbors is especially important in this time of ever-increasing fuel prices,” Casey said. “The enhancements made to Allen Lane, while aesthetically and historically pleasing, are even more important because the station is now fully-ADA compliant. We know that these improvements make using SEPTA a viable option for even more members of the community, at a time when it is most needed.”