Station Review #67: Springfield Mall Transportation Center (SEPTA)


Springfield Mall Transportation Center is an intermodal station located at Baltimore Pike and Sproul Road in Springfield Township, Delaware County, PA. 

History
Springfield Mall station was built as part of the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Company's Media line, in 1913. For many years, the station was aptly named Sproul Road. Through a series of acquisitions, the line eventually became a part of SEPTA. Around the same time this happened, Springfield Mall opened very close by to the Sproul Road station. For the purposes of boosting ridership and promoting the mall, SEPTA decided to rename Sproul Road to Springfield Mall, a decision that has not been reversed since.

Tour

Springfield Mall Transportation Center really consists of three parts: The trolley station, the mall, and the bus bays. 

The Trolley Station

There's not much to this station, it's your average SEPTA suburban trolley station. There is a singular bench inside of a very small shelter, a few bike racks, and virtually nothing else

Bike racks

Looking east towards 69th street

Schedule and map board, but without a schedule

Trolley station from a bit further away

There is an asphalt road and a hill that leads to the mall itself from here. 

The Mall


Probably one of the only reasons anyone would even go to Springfield Mall Transportation Center, besides the nearby hospital and YMCA, is the mall itself. Springfield Mall is a small mall, two floors in height. Despite this, the mall is actually surprisingly lively, moreso than I expected. 

The Bus Bays


This is where the giant "Springfield Mall Transportation Center" sign is located. The sign itself is interesting as it is the same as the older signs for regional rail stations. Few of these signs remain today. 

There are four bus bays total, and each bus bay serves a particular route. Almost all of the bus bays have no seating except for one. There is a bus bay reserved for the bustituted variant of the 101. This is one of the worst transit centers in the area for the quality of the bus bays. 

Besides the bustituted variant of the 101, the routes that can be accessed here are as followed:

107: This is a bus from 69th Street to Lawrence Park via... Holmes...? This bus is really made to fill in a lot of gaps and probably shouldn't be one bus route, yet here it is. Post bus revolution, this bus will instead go from 69th Street Transportation Center to Darby Transportation Center via via... Morton and Folcroft? Yeah I've got nothing. 

109: This is a bus that goes between 69th Street Transportation Center and Chester Transportation Center via Baltimore Pike. This bus route will be made more frequent after the bus revolution changes come into effect.

110: This bus links 69th Street Transportation Center, Springfield, Media, and Penn State Brandywine (Lima) via State Road. 

Statistics


Name: Springfield Mall Transportation Center 
Agency: SEPTA
Line(s): 101
Locality: Springfield 
City/Township: Springfield 
County: Delaware 
State: Pennsylvania 
Ridership: 199 total per average weekday (2017)

Amenity Checklist

Accessible: ×
Bathrooms: ✓
Bicycle parking: ✓
Clean Station: ×
Connections to other transit routes: ✓
Easy passage for each side: ×
Fare Payment Kiosks (if applicable): ×
Good Wayfinding: ×
Indoor Shelters: ×
Maps: ✓
Multiple entrances/exits: ✓
Adequate Parking: ✓
Seating: × (there's not enough)
Shelters: ✓
Station In Good Condition: ×
Ticket Kiosks (if applicable): ×
Ticket Offices: ×
TOD: ✓
Train Departure/Arrival Info (signs that update/screens): ×
Updated/Useful Signage: ×

Final Verdict: 1.5/10

Station Directory


--------Delaware County--------
69th Street Transportation Center
Fairfield Avenue
Walnut Street
Hilltop Road
Beverly Boulevard
Congress Avenue
Lansdowne Avenue
Drexel Park
Irvington Road
Drexel Hill Junction
Huey Avenue
School Lane
Aronimink
Anderson Avenue
Drexelbrook
Drexeline
Scenic Road
Springfield Road
Saxer Avenue
Leamy Avenue 
Woodland Avenue
Thomson Avenue  
Springfield Mall Transportation Center 
Paper Mill Road  
Pine Ridge
Beatry Road
Providence Road
Manchester Avenue
Edgemont Street
Monroe Street 
Jackson Street
Olive Street
Veterans Square
Orange Street

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