Image

On Tuesday, October 13, 2026, a panel presentation at The Racquet Club of Philadelphia brought together Jessica Herman (Chief of Staff at SEPTA), Michael A. Carroll, P.E. (Deputy Managing Director for the City of Philadelphia), Matthew Edmond, AICP (Executive Director of the Chester County Planning Commission), and moderator Alexis Williams, AICP, PP (Planning Director at STV, Inc.) to discuss how transportation projects drive economic growth, support sustainability, and enhance regional connectivity across urban and suburban corridors.

Highlighting a strong public demand for expanded transit services, Jessica Herman detailed

Image

recent successes in summer event travel, the rollout of redesigned bus routes, and updates on the rebranded B (Broad Street) and M (Norristown High Speed) Metro lines. The panelists explored strategies for managing operating and capital budgets sustainably, expanding capacity on key regional routes like the Wawa and Airport lines, and retrofitting legacy 1950s infrastructure to meet modern needs. Emphasizing that transit investments yield widespread societal benefits such as enabling healthcare access and supporting daily workforce commutes the speakers warned that without continued infrastructure funding, the entire region risks losing its competitive edge, while noting that convenient transit services continue to generate strong revenue and earn praise from international visitors.