SEPTA‘s board is putting the brakes on its vote on contracts for a new parking structure for Regional Rail riders at its Conshohocken train station. Mike De Nardo reported the pause for KYW Newsradio.

The proposed structure — intended to make public transit a worthy alternative to driving and thereby relieve city-bound traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, according to SEPTA General Manager Leslie Richards — is estimated at $48 million.

SEPTA’s halt came prior to a vote to authorize $25 million of that budget in building contracts.

At a public meeting on the garage, Philadelphia transit advocate Daniel Trubman questioned the logic behind the proposal. He doubted that drivers would divert to Conshohocken and opt for the Manayunk-Norristown Line instead.

That lack of use would make the idea “… just another extremely expensive park-and-ride facility that will generate next to no ridership for a tremendous cost,” he said.

Richards, who called for the halt to gather additional data, cited anecdotal evidence of its need.

Referring to a recent onsite visit, she reported, “The [station] lot was full. In fact, people were parked in areas where they could have gotten towed because there weren’t enough spots.”

More on the parking situation at SEPTA’s Conshohocken train station is at KYW Newsradio.

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A ride on the Manayunk-Norristown SEPTA train.