What fun is another bus station?

An online business journal called KeystoneEdge just posted a story about all the cool things cities are doing with their dilapidated train stations.

“All Aboard: Urban train stations redeveloped as neighborhood amenities,” is the headline.

It features stations in Philadelphia and Harrisburg and other cities. Of course, they have trains going through them.

But I have often wondered about why Reading turned its cool old train station into just another bus station, with a block-size BARTA bus station a block away, and whale-sized sections of Penn Street reserved for BARTA buses.

I strongly support public transportation and am sincerely glad a spectacular historic public building in Reading was lovingly restored. But couldn’t it have been turned into something more fun than a bus station? Was this part of a plan? Was it the best use of the space? BARTA said it needed more capacity.

Making the place a bus station was likely the only way to wrangle the $5 million from the state and federal bureaucrats for any sort of project. Otherwise, the building would simply have continued to decay, like other city landmarks.

“The station, at Seventh and Franklin streets, was built in 1929 as a hub for the Reading Railroad's rail and bus services. But the last train left in 1981, and the station hasn't been used since,” the Reading Eagle reports.

According to the KeystoneEdge article:

In 2011, a public space called The Porch opened at 30^th Street Station in Philadelphia. The University City District, an organization dedicated to revitalizing the surrounding neighborhood, got involved and installed plants, tables and chairs, and set up space for events like a farmers' market, outdoor concerts, fitness classes and even mini golf.

During the first summer, almost 25,000 people visited the space. UCD surveyed the space every hour to determine how The Porch was being used. The group wanted to demonstrate that there's a huge demand to justify future investments.

“The idea of a train station as a community gathering place has also had an impact across the state. In the capital, the iconic brick-front Harrisburg Transportation Center has undergone a decades-long renovation. Since 1983, $7.68 million has been invested in the station (which serves Amtrak and bus traffic).

“In Philadelphia's Mt. Airy neighborhood, Allens Lane Station houses High Point Cafe, a charming space that lures passengers and locals in for fresh coffee and house-made baked goods.

“And in Elkins Park, a suburban neighborhood north of the city, a transit-oriented development philosophy has led to renovation of the beautiful train station. Reimagined as ‘Elkins Central,’ the space serves as a community gathering place for concerts, meetings and classes.”