On Nov. 3, renovations began at Swarthmore Station as part of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority’s (SEPTA) Station Accessibility Program to increase the number of accessible Regional Rail stations by 40%. Once complete, the station will have access ramps for platforms on both sides of the tracks. The renovations — while intended to improve accessibility — pose concerns for students with disabilities. A four-day notice from SEPTA about the start of the construction has been a major source of frustration.
Due to the construction, the normal entryway at the end of Magill Walk to the train platform and tunnel to the Ville is barricaded, as the new route will be next to it. Until that route is available, the detour to reach the train station from campus involves either following the pathway between David Kemp Hall and Alice Paul Hall and continuing down N. Chester Road or going through the “duck tunnel” onto Fieldhouse Lane. For many students, the time and ease of getting to the Ville or the train station have been affected. Students say the detour has added ten to twenty minutes to their commute.
Susan Smythe, the college’s ADA compliance program manager, shared that the plans to renovate the station have been in the works for nearly two years. After repeated delays, the school was only given four days’ notice ahead of the actual start of construction, which Smythe attributes to SEPTA’s financial struggles, administrative issues, and the complicated nature of the project.
“Everything came together too quickly, so I feel bad that we haven’t been able to get the campus enough notice [of] these problems that, in some ways, only come to light when you really see it,” Smythe said.
Logan Ragland ’29, who uses a wheelchair, has recently encountered accessibility issues at Swarthmore Station due to construction and has had to rely on Uber to get off campus. Ragland says sometimes it takes 40 minutes or more to get a driver, and the drivers can cancel at any time, even after the wait.
“With the current construction, I simply can’t get on or off of the train on the outbound side, which seems like a major access violation,” he said. “The entire ground around the accessible platform is torn up and walled off, so I doubt it’ll be fully functional anytime soon … I’ve had to rely on Uber WAV (Uber’s accessible vehicles), which is both pricey and unreliable. There are basically no good alternatives, which makes the station’s accessible platform being down especially disruptive.”
Once, when Ragland was coming back from debate nationals on the train, he wasn’t able to get off at Swarthmore Station because the ground around the accessible platform was torn up and blocked. Ragland and his debate partner decided to get off at the next station and take an Uber back. After more than 45 minutes of waiting, no Uber WAVs were available.
“It was after 12:30 a.m. at this point, and we were waiting outside as it started to rain,” Ragland said. “We then called the off-campus Public Safety support line and requested transport, but were told that all officers were currently overseeing parties and could not come help us. They instead offered to call us an Uber, which we informed them would not work, but they didn’t believe us and called one anyway.”
Ragland and his teammate waited for the Uber, which was eventually cancelled. After several calls and a fellow debate team member showing up at Bond Hall to advocate for them in person, Public Safety sent a driver to pick up the students.
“This was a major accessibility issue, and involved almost certain malpractice by both SEPTA (by way of these renovations) and Swarthmore (not believing our stated access needs, and requiring us to wait far longer than was necessary for assistance),” Ragland said.
Rose West ’26 and Ragland say that they have received advanced notice from Smythe in the past regarding changes to the campus’s accessible routes due to construction during geoexchange well drilling. However, due to Swarthmore’s own limited notice, this wasn’t possible for the SEPTA renovations. When it comes to finding and using accessible routes, Swarthmore Disability Association Co-Presidents West and Catherine Herbes ’27 both recommend utilizing staff support and campus resources.
Herbes encourages community members to join a mailing list run by Smythe that provides general campus accessibility updates, including a map that color-codes construction areas on campus and identifies available alternative routes.
For specific staff outreach, West credits staff members like Smythe, “who are doing the best that they can given the situation and as much as they can to support students.” Herbes echoed this sentiment, adding that while some students have faced communication issues with SDS in the past, the present team is very responsive to student concerns.
“Recently, I’ve noticed there seems to be a disconnect between the general student body’s impression of accessibility on campus and who they believe is causing problems, versus the reality of experiences by disabled students,” Herbes said. She added that many of the people responsible for helping with campus accessibility are doing the best they can.
Overall, Smythe urges students to be flexible and plan ahead because traveling into the Ville will take more time than usual. She also suggests that students check the SEPTA website for construction updates before traveling. Construction is expected to end in the spring of 2026.
