30TH Street Station Action Plan[1]

8/3/2019 30TH Street Station Action Plan[1]

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30TH Street Station

Danny

Jacobs

Diagnosis of problem areas:

1) Large impermeable concrete area near the Schuylkill River. As we have

learned this semester, impermeable areas not only increase the

amount of water that is runoff into sewers and/or rivers, but it also

increases the concentration of pollution found in this runoff. The area

in red is an example of an area that could be very easily revitalized

with the use of rain gardens or swales.


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U.S Geological Survey. USGS 01474500 Schuylkill River at Philadelphia, PA. Retrieved 09May 2011 from .

2) As can be seen (circled in red), the Schuylkill has the potential to quintuple its level ofdischarge in a short period of time. The measurement is probably even more intense in the

areas surrounding 30th street station that are both impermeable and flat, which prevents anywater from at least being caught in crevices or barricaded.


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This was taken from the South Side of 30th street station, approximately 20 feet

from the river. This is basically a close-up of the area circled in red in the first

picture. Besides being drab and ugly, the dark concrete surfaces 1) reduce

infiltration and thus increase water loads & concentrations during rainfall 2)

increase the urban heat island effect, making the areas uncomfortable during

warmer seasons.


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2) On the Western side, we face the situation of dealing with parking lots.

The real difficulty is not necessarily the fact that it is an industrial,

concrete lot that disrupts natural infiltration in the water cycle but

that given the context of the area, the parking lots function is

extremely valuable and thus, city officials will be more

resistant to disrupt its function. As pointed out by Sample et al

(2003), Best Management Practices should not just be measured by

their size and material costs (the traditional way) but also by their

opportunity costs, which are the benefits forgone due to construction

of the BMP inhibiting other possible projects (business or residentialinvestment, right-of-way costs, etc). These opportunity costs are still

compared with costs saved from environmental damage. For 30th

street, one need not worry about residential or business investments

(most business is inside) but right-of-way is a very important cost,

especially because 30th street is owned by Amtrak and very important

for interregional travel. The protection from the addition of a swale


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might not be enough to outweigh the loss in transportation mobility.

The areas denoted by the light green are areas that I feel are

absolutely important for the function of the area.


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As we can see comparing this parking lot rennovation in Portland, Oregon, the

addition of certain Best Management Practices like Swales can reduce the function

of the area and perhaps, be a net loss for the community (even if some

environmental damage is forgone).


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3) The roof is an obvious choice for a green roof. One should notice that it

is painted white, which improves the albedo of the building and thus

saves energy costs this way. Based on what I learnt from my

presentation on the ACROS Fukuoka, I think it is worth putting a fully

integrated roof on top, especially considering 1) that the 30th street

station is a historical landmark and deserves top treatment 2) there is

enough space for an extensive green roof (meaning soil, plants with

relatively deep roots).


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4) This is not a serious or immediately noticeable problem but while

researching about green architecture I came across various proposals

for indoor green amenities. Some of the proposals were just for

aesthetic reasons but other ideas proposed innovative ways of cross-

ventilation and atmosphere control through the use of plants. Thirtieth

street stations market area appears to serve a particular function inthe community and I think that if one added certain aesthetic and

natural elements to the inside, it could become something special in

itself.


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The plan

A) Sloped parking lots to capture runoff without losing function.

B) Green roof with solar panels perfect area for this inclusion.

C) The inclusion of swales on the Southside and Eastside of thirtieth

station.

D) Waterfall shade around the Westside and the parking lot.

E) If very ambitious, perhaps consider connection to the train station

across for cross-ventilation purposes.

F) Perhaps inner greening a la Britomart Station.

30TH Street Station Action Plan[1]

Documents

Transcript of 30TH Street Station Action Plan[1]