QUICK ACTION 

Want a vote on 5th Square's endorsements in the 2018 primary elections? Sign up for a recurring monthly donation of $5 or more between now and the end of ballot petitions on March 6th to become a voting member. Membership also comes with access to 5th Square's Slack channel, members-only events and briefings, and advance registration opportunities for events.

Sheila Modglin, the popular bartender from Dirty Franks, was in a serious crash at Lincoln Drive and Cliveden, and is in a medically-induced coma. Lincoln Drive is one of the most dangerous thoroughfares in Philadelphia, and the high fatality rate on the curving strip has earned it the nickname “Dead Man’s Gulch.” Sheila suffered many broken bones and head trauma in the crash, and her family has set up a GoFundMe to help pay for medical costs and support her while she’s unable to work.

The 24HrPHL Philadelphia Nightlife Survey is designed to gauge who is participating in Philadelphia’s nighttime economy, what they think about the nightlife arts and culture offerings, and what can be improved. The survey takes about 5-10 minutes. 24HrPHL is a civic engagement project that’s part of the Knight Cities Challenge and was created to define the community and articulate a vision for a better approach to nightlife. To get involved, take the survey and provide your contact information at the end.

EVENTS

NEWS

A new analysis from AllTransit, the nation's largest source of public transit data, shows that about 16 percent of Philadelphia households are currently underserved by SEPTA's various modes of transit. The vast majority of underserved neighborhoods are located in South Philadelphia, including Passyunk Square, Point Breeze, Grays Ferry, Queen Village, Pennsport and Wharton—largely the result of infrequent, inconvenient crosstown bus service. While SEPTA and the City work to increase service frequency on these crosstown routes, and eliminate the $1 transfer penalty, City Council should look to improve transit service for more residents by allowing more housing where the transit is already good. Two recent bills from Councilmembers Maria-Quinones-Sanchez and Jannie Blackwell point the way forward, applying the new Transit-Oriented Development Overlay in the code to 5 station areas on the Market-Frankford Line, increasing allowable density and cutting parking minimums in half.

The Philadelphia City Planning Commission (PCPC) completed the University City Parking Inventory, a comprehensive review of public and private parking spaces in the vicinity of University City because of the growth in parking demand due to institutional, commercial, and residential development. Planning determined that the current supply is not considered stressed since the rates for public facility and private facility parking fall below the optimal rate of 85% for efficient parking facility operations. PCPC will monitor parking trends and will release follow-up inventories on a five-year schedule to better manage parking.

Responding to increased interest in curbless design proposals in Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) released a study of curbless streets’ potential to meet city goals and to conceptually design case studies. The report evaluates the role of curbless streets in meeting transportation, stormwater management, and livability goals, and illustrates some design scenarios for curbless street projects within the City of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia planners hope speed cameras will play a significant role in the city’s effort to make streets safer, but first, the technology needs to be legalized at the state level. The legislation has been approved by the House transportation committee, which outgoing Republican State Rep. John Taylor chairs. The challenge will be convincing House leadership to list the bill for a vote. Philadelphia has about 100 traffic-related fatalities a year (93 in 2017), and typically 10 percent happen on Roosevelt Boulevard. Of the nine fatal crashes on the Boulevard last year, seven involved pedestrians.