| Rep. William F. Keller 184th Legislative District Philadelphia County |
| Continuing the Fight | |
 As your state representative, I continue to be concerned about the locations of Philadelphia’s two approved stand-alone casinos that will encroach on the city and Delaware River. In my opinion, the lack of a comprehensive traffic plan and the supporting infrastructure to implement it is a grave matter of public safety. Both HSP’s SugarHouse Casino near the Girard Avenue exit and Philadelphia Entertainment's Foxwoods Casino in South Philadelphia are expected to open in 2008, not nearly enough time for the city to resolve the major traffic and infrastructure problems these venues will cause. In addition, the licensees do not have control of the riparian lands which they base their site plans on. This lack of site control is a major impediment to the ability to construct their facilities and meet the deadline to have their temporary facilities up and running. UPDATE: I am pleased to announce I’ve
joined my fellow lawmakers from the Philadelphia area to
announce a major milestone in our two-year fight to block
the proposed building plans of the SugarHouse and Foxwoods
Casinos along the Delaware River. House and Senate leaders have formed an alliance urging these casino operators to find a new development site in the city that will not cause as many headaches for our residents. I am proud to stand with my colleagues and take the necessary steps together to protect the neighborhoods this development could negatively affect. I hope that by working with HSP and Philadelphia Entertainment, we will be able to find a more suitable area in the city upon which we can build the SugarHouse and Foxwoods casinos. I'm not giving up the fight. -Rep. Keller |
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