Weekly Newsletter, Issue 152 🔽 VETO THE DOWNZONING OF GIRARD AVE Almost 500 petition signers are urging Mayor Kenney to veto Council President Clarke's bill that aims to downzone much of Girard Avenue east of Broad St. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 151 🚂 JOIN US IN HARRISBURG - FIGHT FOR TRANSIT FUNDING Join 5th Sq and statewide partners for a RALLY in Harrisburg - NEXT TUESDAY 6/29, to fight for PA transit funding. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 150 ✨ WIN: PARKING TAX CUT REJECTED! WHYY and The Inquirer are reporting that City Council is dropping their plan to cut the parking tax! This is an incredible win! Continue reading

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Weekly Newsletter, Issue 149 ACTION💸 REJECT THE PARKING TAX CUT Tell Council to support transit passes for low-income residents, not giveaways to parking executives Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 148 5TH SQUARE IN THE NEWS🚋 A SETBACK FOR TROLLEY MOD Tom Fitzgerald of the Inquirer wrote about how Amazon outbid SEPTA for land in Southwest Philly originally envisioned for a trolley maintenance yard -- and the lasting impacts this may have on modernizing our trolley fleet. Continue reading

Thank you very much for being one of over 650 friends and neighbors who signed our petition calling for a safer Cobbs Creek Parkway. To share some promising news, the City of Philadelphia has requested $800,000 in funding from the federal government for safety improvements at key pedestrian crossings at Cobbs Creek Parkway. Continue reading

5th Square members and volunteers came to SEPTA's Capital Budget hearings today to advocate for Trolley Modernization Subway Station Accessibility Expansion of Trolleybuses Bicycle Amenities at stations Here is the spoken testimony delivered at the virtual public meeting today by 5th Square members and volunteers. This is in addition to a letter delivered by the Transit Forward Philadelphia to SEPTA with comments on the proposed operating and capital budgets. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 147 🚋 SPEAK OUT FOR TROLLEYS! We are looking for speakers who would like to give short (2 minutes max) testimonials emphasizing the importance of clean, safe, accessible, and frequent trolley service. Personal stories are a plus! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 146 🗳️ PRIMARY ELECTION DAY INFO The primary election is NEXT TUESDAY, May 18, 2021. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 145 👕 SHOW OFF YOUR URBANIST CRED WITH OUR NEW T-SHIRT! Show your support for better city planning, transit, bike lanes and housing with our new T-Shirt designed by Philly-based artist Miriam Singer! Continue reading

5th Square is providing the following press release in reaction to the newly-released SEPTA FY 2022-2033 Capital Budget.    Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 144 🏛️ ACTION: SUPPORT OUR BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR SAFETY, HEALTH & MOBILITY Last week, Mayor Kenney delivered his annual budget address to City Council and 5th Square is excited to see many of our top priorities in the Mayor's proposal. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 143 🚋 ACTION: HELP SAVE OUR TROLLEY SERVICE SEPTA’s purchase of the site at 6901 Elmwood Avenue would grow access to jobs, drive economic development, and reduce car reliance throughout the region. We need your help to make this happen Continue reading

Land use, public spaces, and transportation issues have concrete ramifications for transgender residents. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 142 🚋 WE DESERVE MODERN TROLLEY SERVICE Our Trolley Mod Petition has garnered over 500 signatures in a week! We need to show our local congressional reps overwhelming community support for this most important transit project. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 141 🚋 FUND TROLLEY MODERNIZATION The Philadelphia region deserves reliable, accessible, and frequent trolley service. We call on Congress to authorize direct financial support for SEPTA’s Trolley Modernization Project. We are also asking SEPTA to prioritize Trolley Modernization and increase their capital budget investment allocation for this important project. Continue reading

We are announcing the launch of our campaign for funding SEPTA’s Trolley Modernization Project starting with an online petition. Continue reading

5th Square is providing the following press release in reaction to the news that SEPTA may temporarily close Kensington’s Somerset Station over safety issues. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 140 Our March meet-up is THIS THURSDAY! We are honored to host special guests from the Mayor's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, & Sustainability: Chris Puchalsky, Director of Policy & Strategic Initiatives Andrew Simpson, Transit Policy Planner They will introduce us to the new Philadelphia Transit Plan which details a vision for our region’s transit system going forward to 2045. Continue reading

In the 100-plus years since Jacques Gréber designed the Ben Franklin Parkway, the ways in which Philadelphians have moved in and utilized public spaces has changed dramatically.  Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 139 At our March meet-up, we are honored to host special guests from the Mayor's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, & Sustainability: Chris Puchalsky, Director of Policy & Strategic Initiatives Andrew Simpson, Transit Policy Planner They will introduce us to the new Philadelphia Transit Plan which details a vision for our region’s transit system going forward to 2045. Continue reading

5th Square is providing the following press release in reaction to newly-released SEPTA 2021-2026 Strategic Plan.    Continue reading

5th Square is providing the following press release in reaction to newly-released City Transit Plan: Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 138 🏠 TUESDAY: LAND VALUE TAX IN PHILLY Join the Center for Property Tax Reform for a FREE webinar in partnership with 5th Square to discuss Land Value Tax in the city of Philadelphia. Continue reading

The 2021 revisions to the City's Zoning Code are great in principle, but Council district carve-outs threaten the very future of comprehensive citywide planning. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 137 🚍 TOMORROW: February Monthly Zoom Meet-up & Better Buses Campaign Intro 5th Square, Philly's urbanist PAC and advocacy organization, is hosting our February monthly meet-up on Zoom TOMORROW evening, February 18th, from 7-8pm, and this month we'll be talking transit, with a focus on SEPTA's upcoming redesign of our region's bus network. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 136 ACTION: 🏘️🏡🏚️ SAY 'NO' TO COUNCIL'S NEW ZONING COMMISSION Council President Darrell Clarke and Republican Councilmember Brian O’Neill are proposing a resolution (#21003800) in City Council TOMORROW that would authorize a council-led Zoning Code Review Commission that could reverse Philadelphia's progress on climate, transportation, and affordability issues if supporters get their way. Continue reading

PennDOT just finished their work on the Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge and the new westbound protected bike lane looks amazing! Continue reading

Thank you for signing our petition calling on SEPTA to adapt to the pandemic and grow its ridership by Restoring Service & Lowering Fares on Regional Rail. We have some big news to share! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 135 5TH SQUARE IN THE NEWS - 🚉 The Future of Regional Rail The Inquirer's Pat Madej poses the existential question facing SEPTA's regional rail system -- Without commuters, what will happen to SEPTA Regional Rail?  Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 134 ACTION PennDOT’s is accepting public comment on their I-95 proposal for road work near the Frankford Arsenal in Northeast Philly. 🚵‍♀️ Demand safe bike and pedestrian facilities here! Continue reading

We have some small but exciting news to share about our campaign to reform regional rail fares and service in our region.As part of their FY2022 Work Program (still open for public comment), the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) will conduct a study of regional rail fare equity and restructuring. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 133 🚸 MANTUA TRAFFIC SAFETY PROJECT Do you live, work, or travel through the Mantua neighborhood in West Philly? Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 132 Note: This newsletter will be a special one with two urgent action items and a celebration of all the work we have done in the past year! Continue reading

Thank you to everyone who attended our year-end Holiday Party and Urbanist Awards ceremony. We are giving one last shout-out to all the nominees and the winners from the night's awards ceremony. We want to thank each one of the following nominees for their outstanding contributions to Philadelphia’s urbanist movement in 2020! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 131 ❄️ HOLIDAY PARTY + 2020 URBANIST AWARDS Join 5th Square for our year-end Holiday Party over Zoom on Thursday, December 17th at 6:00 PM and our second annual Urbanist Awards ceremony! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 130 🏆 Nominate Your Faves for Our Annual Urbanist Awards! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 129 🏛️ PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN'S TRANSIT PLANS It was thrilling to see the pivotal role our region played in tipping the votes for President-elect Joe Biden in last week's Presidential election, and 5th Square is proud of the work our members and volunteers did helping turn out the vote in their communities on Election Day. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 128 🏞️ WIN FOR SAFETY ON COBBS CREEK PKWY At a virtual stakeholder meeting hosted by Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center last Thursday, PennDOT and the Philadelphia Streets Department shared some promising plans to improve safety along Cobbs Creek Parkway. Continue reading

We have exciting news to share about Cobbs Creek Parkway! At a virtual stakeholder meeting hosted by Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center last Thursday, PennDOT and the Philadelphia Streets Department shared some promising plans to improve safety along Cobbs Creek Parkway. Continue reading

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Larry Spector has penned an impassioned and very lawyerly letter to the mayor about how he and his coalition have worked really hard to come up with a totally awesome bill that is totally not about keeping people out of Society Hill. They really need it to get passed because they worked really hard on it for two whole years. We won’t go line-by-line through Spector’s screed, and we won’t try to guess at the coalition’s intentions or motivations. (They claim something to do with historic preservation, which they hope to accomplish by requiring new parking lots to be built.) We will lay out some facts of the bill, and the impact it will have. You can decide whether this bill would be “not racist” and “not exclusionary”. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 127 🌆 TELL MAYOR KENNEY: VETO EXCLUSIONARY ZONING OVERLAY IN SOCIETY HILL Councilmanic Prerogative won another round for exclusionary zoning, and City Council passed Councilmember Mark Squilla's zoning overlay for Society Hill. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 126 🌆 REJECT EXCLUSIONARY ZONING IN SOCIETY HILL Society Hill NIMBY ('Not in My Back Yard') activists have been lobbying Councilmember Mark Squilla to help them make their neighborhood even more exclusive. Despite the Mayor vetoing this push last year, the bill is back and likely to pass City Council THIS THURSDAY. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 125 🚴 BIG WIN FOR GRAYS FERRY BRIDGE Remember that petition for a westbound protected bike lane on the Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge we published last year? PennDOT and the City heard our request and is making it happen! PennDOT anticipates that a modular curb system with flexible delineator posts will be installed by the end of November 2020 on the westbound side of the Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge over the Schuylkill River. This means that both westbound and eastbound sides of the Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge will have protected bike paths! Continue reading

Remember that petition for a westbound protected bike lane on the Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge we published a little over a year ago? We just got an exciting update from PennDOT! PennDOT anticipates that a modular curb system with flexible delineator posts will be installed by the end of November 2020 on the westbound side of the Grays Ferry Avenue Bridge over the Schuylkill River. This project safety enhancement will make the boundary between the westbound bike lane and the adjacent vehicular traffic lane more visible to both drivers and bicyclists. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 124 🏞️ PETITION FOR A SAFER COBBS CREEK PKWY For far too long Cobbs Creek Parkway has been a deadly thoroughfare weaving through the western edge of West and Southwest Philadelphia. PETITION TO CHANGE THIS TODAY Continue reading

By Larissa Mogano, For 5th Square On Thursday, newly elected Register of Wills and 50-year resident of Southwest Philadelphia Tracey Gordon held a press conference at the entrance to the Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center to address traffic safety concerns along one of Philadelphia’s most dangerous roads: Cobbs Creek Parkway. Jokingly dubbed “NASCAR” by other longtime neighbors, the topic of the press conference was definitely no laughing matter. We gathered to remember yet another young life lost in a completely preventable incident. 25-year-old Avante Reynolds leaves behind a 2-month-old baby after she was violently killed by a driver who left the scene. While we are frustrated with the careless and callous actions of one individual, the responsibility is not theirs alone. Continue reading