Throwback Thursday | Norristown's Trolley Lines

Today's Throwback Thursday is also a foreshadow into the future of Norristown as the transportation HUB of Montgomery County. In the early 1900s, most main roads in Norristown had trolley lines transporting guests throughout the town. Many of these lines also connected us to Philadelphia and Lehigh Valley. Before cars and roads became more accessible, this was the best way to get your business done...and it helped the economy as well.

The map above shows all the trolley lines that once went through Norristown. The red line which is Markley Street was a part of the Lehigh Valley line which ran until 1951. The blue lines were abandoned in 1933 and were the connections to Chestnut Hill the Greater Philly Area. The green line is now a part of SEPTA and their high speed line.

On a quick side note, not all streets in town are in horrible shape because of horrible Winter seasons. Many of these trolley lines were paved over instead of being removed, causing streets to buckle and cause potholes to form. Also, some of these roads are bricks underneath which also need to be removed. So when we look at why are streets are bad, this explains some of it.

If you were an outsider reading about all the trolley lines that are now gone, you would think Norristown has lost its competitive advantage in transportation. You would be right, however, that's not the case. Today, Norristown has become the HUB of transportation for Montgomery County and continues to expand with projects on Markley and Lafayette. Norristown has one of the largest transportation center on Lafayette and continues to grow.

Now here is the foreshadow, or should I say present day? The double-blue line at the bottom represents Main Street to Philadelphia. No doubt, this line was important to the success of many of the businesses that once filled our streets. When this went away, so did the accessibility to visit these businesses, unless you had a car. 

Today, plans are now underway to expand Lafayette which runs parallel to Main Street. The hopes to expand the road and make it more accessible from the turnpike is a formula to bring more traffic into our downtown district. Obviously, it is not an overnight process, but the town will benefit by seeing more traffic through our downtown areas. Those abandoned lots and owned but not maintained properties will become prime real estate for companies looking to join Norristown. 

The Lafayette Street Corridor Expansion Project will also benefit Norristown Arts Hill as it will become easier for visitors to get to. Today, the Arts Hill sits on a one-way street that it long overdue for a traffic patter change. The Arts Hill will still be tough to reach from the North, but it is a good step towards getting the discussion going to benefit local businesses.

So when you look at Norristown making its comeback, the first thing to look at is our transportation. Projects like Lafayette and Markley will benefit businesses and the community over the next couple years.