DeadBug

W. School House Lane runs from way down near the river up through Germantown, the part I'm most familiar with, from Wissahickon Ave to past Henry Avenue, is a pretty quiet tree-lined street, with a mix of apartment buildings, some of them quite large (Alden Park, School Lane House) some smaller apartment buildings, and single family homes. It's also home to schools like William Penn Charter (a private school), and Philadelphia University. Traffic never seems to be a huge problem, people also park on the street without too much difficulty. Public transit is good in the area, it is between two different SEPTA rail stations and there are bus routes on several of the cross streets.

Chemical Road in Plymouth Meeting used to be a narrow two lane road between Germantown Pike and Ridge Pike, but it has been widened to 2 lanes each direction, 3 lanes if you count the turning lanes, and has become a major route to get onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike at the "Mid-County/Norristown" interchanges. It also has an entrance to the Blue Route southbound, which adds to the traffic. Other than the traffic, the road now has a hotel (Hampton Inn), office buildings, and a shopping area with a huge bunch of stores like Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Lowes, and Target. There are also restaurants along the way including a Cracker Barrel and Ruby Tuesdays. During rush hours, this can get really busy and backed up.

Montgomery Avenue in Ardmore is a terrific shopping area. The anchor of the shopping is Suburban Square, which was one of the first suburban shopping centers ever built in the US in the 1920's. Anchored originally by a major local department store, this outdoor mall now has a mix of local stores, national chains like the Gap, restaurants and food stores like a Farmer's Market, and a Trader Joe's.

Ardmore is one of the communities along the 'Main Line' of Philadelphia's western suburbs. The Main Line refers to the 'main line' train line running from Philadelphia to the western 'burbs and beyond, so this area still has great public transport, with train stations every couple of miles. Along with the shopping, there is a mix of small apartment buildings, schools (both public and private), and things like the Merion Cricket Club, a very very old private club with beautiful grounds.

St. Asaph's Road runs parallel to City Line Avenue, from Presidental Blvd to Conshohocken State Road.. Lined on both sides with office buildings and large apartment buildings, I use it mostly to avoid traffic on City Line Avenue. The apartments here are in a great location, quieter than the places on City Line, but still close enough to walk to the shopping and restaurants. Public transportation also runs along St. Asaph's as well as on City Line. St. Asaph's Church is on the corner of its namesake road, where it meets Conshohocken State Road..

City Line Avenue runs southwest along the city's western boundary, from the Schuykill River til it becomes Township Line Road somewhere below Haverford Ave. Along most of it, it's extremely built up, there are seemingly endless shopping areas. At the start there are large apartment buildings, like Presidential City, office buildings, along with things like a TGIFridays, and a relatively new Target shopping area. Two of the city's major TV stations are also located on City Line, right across the street from one another, WPVI - Channel 6, and WCAU - Channel 10 are both at Monument Rd and City Line. Further along is a major local college, St. Joseph's University. Almost any kind of shopping or dining can be found along this stretch of road. Traffic can be backed up during rush hours, in both directions.

Old York Road runs parallel to Broad Street through most of North Philadelphia, and has many of the same problems as much of North Philly. Run-down in areas, houses need a lot of rehabbing. The crime rate here is a bit higher, I think, than in most of the city. The northern part of Old York Road becomes Rt. 611, from Broad Street, and is the major route north into the suburbs of Elkins Park and Jenkintown. As you leave the city there are large old houses, and a wide variety of churches and synagogues, including the Frank Lloyd Wright designed synagogue Beth Shalom.

"Two Street" as S. Second Street is known to locals is a mix of all the cultures that have made up South Philadelphia over the years. Irish immigrants gave way to Italian immigrants and now there are more Hispanic and Asian families in the area too. The Mummer Museum is at 2nd and Washington Ave in South Philly, and many many of the Mummer brigades and string bands have their headquarters on Two Street. The street really comes alive on New Year's Day when the Mummer's Parade starts out on the street.

Running from North Philadephia through to Germantown, many parts of Wayne Avenue are pretty run down. It's not an area I feel especially safe in at night. The part in Germantown is somewhat better, especially around Chelten Avenue because it's a big shopping street for the neighborhood, with supermarkets, fast food places, drugstores, and restaurants.

W. Rittenhouse runs from Germantown Avenue down to Lincoln Drive, where it ends up right in the middle of Fairmount Park. The park is a lovely area to go walking, jogging or exploring during nice weather. The houses along it are modest, but nice, and nicely kept up. There's shopping in the area on Germantown Avenue and on nearby Wayne and Chelten Avenues.

Henry Avenue runs from East Falls up through Upper Roxborough/Andorra in Philadelphia. Along the way it is 4 lanes of a wide variety of neighborhoods. From very beautiful older homes in the East Falls/Germantown area, past the dorms and classroom buildings of Philadelphia University, on to modest single family homes and twins in Roxborough. Also in Roxborough, Henry Avenue is home to W. B. Saul Agricultural High School, a city school dedicated to the agricultural sciences. There's a working farm there in the middle of the city, with horses, and cows, mules and other farm animals grazing in pastures by the road. It's a busy street, but the neighborhoods along it are well-established older ones, with lots of neighborhood spirit.