Page 13 - Guide to Greater Philadelphia

LOCATION
easy to get here􏰀—􏰀and to travel in and around here, too
Greater Philadelphia is at the heart of the East Coast, making travel a cinch.
Greater Philadelphia is traversed by several major highways, including I-95, I-295 (the New Jersey Turnpike) and I-76 (the Pennsylvania Turnpike). These roads allow for easy access to destinations in the north, south, west and east of the region.
Our Philadelphia region is within an easy drive of New York (90 miles), Baltimore (100 miles) and Harrisburg (100 miles). Commercial providers connect the Philadelphia area with other major population centers along the East Coast, and 30th Street Station, located in Philadelphia, is the third-busiest Amtrak station in the U.S.
National and international air travel are also at your fingertips, with five major airports located within a two-hour drive, including the award-winning Philadelphia International Airport. In addition, the Philadelphia area is home to three major shipping ports served by a recently deepened Delaware River, which can now accommodate 80% of the world’s largest vessels.
The Port of Philadelphia: The Port of Philadelphia is a cluster of public and private ports and marine ter- minals located along the shores of the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. Operated by Holt Logistics, this historic facility is maintained, managed and promoted by The Port of Philadelphia (philaport.com), offers comprehensive access to the U.S. and the world through dynamic distribution channels and has facilities to service containers, steel, food, raw materials and more.
The Port of Paulsboro: The Port of Paulsboro is located on the Delaware River and Mantua Creek in Gloucester County, NJ, approximately 78 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Traditionally one of the nation’s busiest marine transfer operations, notably for crude oil and petroleum products — such as jet fuel and asphalt — it is also a port of entry with several facilities within a foreign trade zone. A part of the port is being redeveloped as an adaptable deep-water omniport able to handle a variety of bulk and break-bulk cargo and shipping contain- ers. The Paulsboro Marine Terminal, as this facility is known, is owned by the South Jersey Port Corporation and operated by Holt Logistics.
The Port of Wilmington: The Port of Wilmington is a full-service deep-water port and marine terminal in Delaware that handles about 400 vessels annually, making it the busiest terminal on the Delaware River. The port is located at the confluence of the Delaware and Christina rivers, some 65 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, and is owned by the Diamond State Port Corporation. For more information, go to portofwilmington.com.
Traveling around the Philadelphia Area
The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) offers several helpful resources for commuters, all of which are listed at dvrpc.org/commuterservices.
Notable initiatives include:
• PA Carpool, which provides information on commuting around the region
• RideECO, a commuter benefit program employers can offer to help employees pay for transportation costs
• Share-A-Ride, a computerized service that matches commuters with car pools, van groups, transit
services and more.
• Another option is commuterchoice.com/philadelphia, which provides helpful links to transit, carpool,
biking, telework and other commuting options.
For more information on commuter resources, road construction, ridesharing and anything else you need to know about travel in Greater Philadelphia, visit the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation at penndot.gov, the New Jersey Department of Transportation at state.nj.us/transportation and the Delaware Department of Transportation at deldot.gov.
Traveling beyond the Philadelphia Area
Amtrak: The 30th Street Station serves as Amtrak’s hub in Philadelphia. Trains departing from the station take travelers as far south as Orlando and as far north as Boston. Major East Coast cities, as well as Midwestern hubs such as Chicago and Milwaukee, can be reached
from the station, and the California Zephyr line even provides daily service to the West Coast. For more information, go to amtrak.com.
Philadelphia International Airport: This busy international hub is located just 10 miles from Center City. With seven terminals and 124 gates, it is the largest airport both in the Greater Philadelphia region and in all of Pennsylvania. For those arriving or depart- ing from the airport, SEPTA provides an Airport Regional Rail Line that runs every 30 minutes between PHL and Center City. For more information, go to phl.org.
SEPTA: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) provides bus, rail and trolley services across the five counties of southeastern Pennsylvania and in northern Delaware, where access to Wilmington and Newark — home to the University of Delaware — is provided. SEPTA coordinates with neighboring public transit teams in Delaware (DART) and southern New Jersey (PATCO). For more on SEPTA, see the Quality of Life section on page 10.
Wilmington Airport: Wilmington Airport, also known as New Castle Airport, is located in New Castle County, less than an hour’s drive from Philadelphia. Parking is free at the airport, and Delaware Transit Corporation (DART) bus lines 22 and 25 connect the airport with the Wilmington train station. While there is some passenger service at the airport, it is primarily a commercial facility. For more information, go to flywilmilg.com.
FUN FACT: Philadelphia has more bicycle commuters per capita than any of the other 10 biggest cities in the country. According to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the city’s bicycle commuting rate is 2.3 percent. The organization offers one-hour workshops on bicycling and bike commuting (bicyclecoalition.org/ride-your-bike/ bike-commuting).
Delaware River Port Authority: The Delaware River Port Authority of Pennsylvania and New Jersey serves as a steward of four of the bridges that connect Philadelphia and New Jersey — the Ben Franklin, Betsy Ross, Commodore Barry and Walt Whitman bridges. For toll and travel alert information, visit drpa.org.
E-ZPass: Possession of an E-ZPass allows drivers quick, simple electronic tolling as they travel through- out the region and beyond. Some toll plazas may also offer discounts to E-ZPass holders. To purchase an E-ZPass, go to ezpass.csc.paturnpike.com, ezpassnj. com or ezpassde.com.
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