News - FITLER SQUARE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION

Your Opinion Matters: Proposed Reversal of 24th Street

You may have heard about the Grays Ferry Triangles Gateway project proposed by South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA). While much of the project is focused on the neighborhood south of South Street, there is a proposed change within our boundaries: the reversal of 24th Street between Bainbridge Street and Lombard Street.

Rename Taney Street in Philly is the latest campaign to erase a racist past

by Rita Giordano

In the latest action aimed at purging the symbols of racial intolerance and exclusion from America’s public spaces, protesters demonstrated along Fitler Square’s Taney Street on Saturday, calling on officials to rename it for someone who has united the nation rather than divided it.

The Philadelphia street, which is in a number of city neighborhoods, is named for former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney, the principal author of the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford decision of 1857, which held that Africans, whether enslaved or free, had no standing in court because they were not and could not be U.S. citizens.

“This grew out of a recognition that a lot needs to change in our society,” said protester Ben Keys, 40, a Taney Street resident and Wharton associate professor. “Culture needs to change as well as policies to make things more racially inclusive and make everyone in our communities feel welcome.”

About 40 people took part in the peaceful protest that started at Markward Playground.

“The Mayor supports the effort to rename Taney Street,” a spokesperson for the city said. “Renaming requires City Council to introduce and pass an ordinance; the Mayor is not able to do this unilaterally.”

Why Philly parents lined up at 4 a.m. to get their kids into kindergarten

by Kristen A. Graham, Updated: January 31, 2020

The first parents got in line well before the sun rose on Jan. 27. By 4:15, four people were waiting to register their children for one of the 90 coveted spots in kindergarten classes at Greenfield Elementary in Center City.

By 7 a.m., it was close to 50. Parents were eventually issued numbers based on their position in line and assigned times to come back to complete registration paperwork.

“It was mass panic for no reason,"one parent said. “We’re not promoting free for everyone with public school if this is how we’re going to roll.”

Another was incredulous that there is no sibling preference or ability to complete paperwork online, and upset there was no lottery at Greenfield.

posted by | 61sc
February 09, 2020

Fitler Square Neighbors Support Daytime Loading Zones Project to Reduce Traffic Congestion

Contact: Fitler Square Neighborhood Association

[email protected]

October 18, 2019

Re: Residential Area Daytime Loading Zones

At its October 10th meeting, the Board of Directors of the Fitler Square Neighborhood Association discussed the community planning issue of motor vehicle traffic congestion. Based on information shared by The Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (oTIS), independent research, and feedback from our neighbors the Board voted to Support oTIS’s ability to request installation of ‘Residential Area Daytime Loading Zones’ at the beginning and end of blocks where city planning and engineering judgment indicate these loading zones are appropriate to reduce traffic congestion.

Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions or if Fitler Square Neighbors can be of assistance to you. Fitler Square Neighbors belongs to all of us. We want your feedback on this and other issues in the future.

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posted by | 61sc
October 23, 2019

Bagels and beer as Spread Bagelry and Workhorse Brewing meet up in Center City

Spread Bagelry, the Montreal-style bagel shop now in the throes of expansion, has opened its so-called Spreadquarters at 2401 Walnut St. with an interesting partnership.

Spread shares the street-level space, once a Jose Garces-owned pizzeria called 24 Wood-Fired Grill, with a tasting room by Workhorse Brewing Co., out of King of Prussia.

The crossover appears seamless; customers walk in, order bagels, bagel sandwiches, and salads at the counter. Farther along in the space is the full bar, stocked with six Workhorse beers on tap, as well as two wines from Villanova’s Pear Grove.

There also is a patio overlooking the Schuylkill. The location is on the Center City end of the Walnut Street Bridge.

When it comes to adapting street space for pedestrians, Philly needs a better road map

Car-free urban public space is in short supply in American cities, where a clear demarcation frequently separates parkland from streetscape.

It doesn’t have to be that way, though, as a few sites in Philadelphia have begun to show. There are parking spaces on South Street given over to bicycle corrals. A stub of a street converted into a plaza in Grays Ferry has become an outdoor dining and play-date destination for the community.

Plazas and parklets — parking spaces repurposed for other uses — remain a relative rarity in Philadelphia, and a new study has determined that a lack of staff, funding and leadership, and a convoluted bureaucracy contribute to keeping neighborhoods from embracing these improvements.

“The amount of barriers to entry even at step one is huge,” said Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman, an urban anthropologist at Drexel University and author of the study for the Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation.

City officials, who were consulted in the report’s research, agreed that change is needed to make parklets and plazas easier to create.

“From an internal sense, we knew that the process needed some ways to be more efficient,” said Angela Dixon, director of planning for the city’s transportation office. “How we make it be more efficient, or where the pain points are? This report is really helpful.”

Chestnut Street Bridge to close Monday for year-long makeover

Say your goodbyes to the Chestnut Street bridge.

The 62-year-old eastbound connection between West Philadelphia and Center City is scheduled to close Monday evening for a year of construction.

The bridge will close sometime after 8 p.m, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.

When PennDot reopens the bridge in 2020, it will boast rehabbed superstructure, wider sidewalks and a new trellis at the trailhead to the Schuylkill River Trail. The reinvented bridge will also boast — bicyclists rejoice — a dedicated bike lane running along the north side of Chestnut between 34th and 22nd streets.

During the year-long closure, motorists and cyclists heading east from West Philadelphia will be detoured north on either 38th Street, 36th Street or 33rd Street to east on Market Street, then across the river to 23rd Street.Chestnut Street motorists in the vicinity of 30th Street also may turn left on Schuylkill Avenue to access either eastbound Market Street or John F. Kennedy Boulevard across the river to Center City.

An alternate detour for cyclists will be to take 38th Street or 34th Street south, turn left on Spruce Street, then east on South Street across the river to 22nd Street.

Chestnut Street’s bridge over the Schuylkill to close for a year

The Chestnut Street bridge over the Schuylkill River is closing next week, and it won’t be open to traffic again for a year.

The 62-year-old eastbound span needs repairs, PennDot reported Tuesday, including repairing and repainting the steel superstructure and replacing the deck. The structure also will be upgraded with a bike lane, wider sidewalks, and decorative railings. The bridge will be closed starting about 8 p.m. Monday, with the closure barring the street to all users from Schuylkill Avenue near 30th Street to 23rd Street. Pedestrians also will not be able to access the Schuylkill River Train from Chestnut Street during the repair project.

About 18,700 cars a day cross the bridge, built in 1957.

The work is part of a $103.6 million project that also will affect two Schuylkill Avenue crossings over I-76, the I-76 west ramp to Chestnut Street, the Walnut Street ramp to I-76 east, and the stone arch bridges on Chestnut Street over 24th Street and freight train tracks. Portions of walls along the river also will be repaired. The prime contractor on the project is Buckley & Company Inc. of Philadelphia.

Eastbound traffic will be routed onto either 38th Street, 36th Street, or 33rd Street to Market Street, then to 23rd Street. Drivers also can turn onto Schuylkill Avenue from 30th Street. Cyclists can follow the same detours as cars, or can travel on 38th Street or 34th Street south, left onto Spruce Street, then cross the river at South Street. People on foot will be routed to Market or Walnut Streets.

Motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles by visiting www.511PA.com or downloading the 511PA application for iPhone and Android devices. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information, and access to more than 950 traffic cameras.

Humans of Fitler Square

"His last words to me were, 'I'm either coming home the most decorated Marine, or I'm not coming home at all.' My brother died in Vietnam on December 12th, 1971. Just 13 days before his birthday, on Christmas Day.

Every single day, I carry my brother's dog tags in my pocket. His dog tags, a few rosary medals, and the first chip that ever came off the Vietnam Memorial on Spruce Street. They built the Memorial in 1987, and I just personally fell in love with it... and have been taking care of it ever since. In the beginning, it was just something that kept me going... I would be down there 15-16 hours a day.

My son just retired from the Marine Corps after 22 years, and I'm so damn proud of him. He's named after my brother, Bernard Moran."

posted by | 61sc
July 15, 2019

What to Know About the Spruce and Pine Street Bike Lane Revamp

The city has begun its highly anticipated revamp of the Spruce and Pine street bike lanes.

The project will, among other things, switch the road’s two bike lanes from the right to the left sides of the streets. It’s welcomed by cyclists — and some neighbors — who have bemoaned safety and traffic conditions on Spruce and Pine street in recent years.

Here’s information on the project’s background, what the revamp will accomplish, and what to expect if you live or drive in the area.

A need for protection

Originally set to take place in fall 2018, the revamp was delayed until this spring … and then delayed again until this month. Christopher Puchalsky, policy director in the city’s Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, explained the setbacks in October: The project is “really important,” he said, and “rather than doing it quick, rushing, we’d rather do it right.” Plus, he said, it didn’t make sense to repave the roads just before deteriorating winter weather conditions.

A need for protection

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