Weekly Newsletter, Issue 100 RETROSPECTIVE Welcome to the 100th edition of 5th Square's newsletter, our first of 2020. In this special edition, we want to take a pause to reflect on some of our accomplishments as a team over the past year and offer a peek at our plans for 2020. Continue reading

Thank you to everyone who attended our year-end Holiday Party and Urbanist Awards ceremony at Radio Kismet on December 18th! Continue reading

2019 was a banner year for 5th Square, Philadelphia's urbanist political action committee. As we celebrate our fifth year as an organization and our second City council cycle, we reflect on the impact we've made around important urbanist causes for better mobility, housing, and public space. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 99½ ACTION Get your tickets today for our 2019 Holiday Party + Awards Ceremony Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 99 ACTION Help Save the Delaware Waterfront from More Suburban Sprawl Continue reading

What an amazing Election Day! Three out of three of our endorsed candidates, Helen Gym, Jamie Gauthier, and Kendra Brooks won their races and are headed for City Council!    Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 98 ACTION Tomorrow, November 5th is Election Day! Pennsylvania polling places are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. Go to the Pennsylvania Department of State’s website to find your polling place. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 97 ACTION Make your voting plan for November 5th!5th Square is thrilled to support three champions for City Council who align with our organization's core values and advocate for a better Philadelphia with safe and affordable transportation, abundant housing and better public spaces.  Continue reading

5th Square announces its endorsement of Kendra Brooks for City Council At-Large! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 96 ACTION Write Your Reps: City Council’s Parking Minimums Bill is an Assault on Affordability and the Climate There was originally a hearing scheduled today for a bill (160710) first introduced by  Councilmember Jannie Blackwell back in 2016 that would have increased minimum parking requirements Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 95 ACTION The November 5th election is just a month away, and at our next meet-up is on Thursday, October 10th, you'll have a chance to hear from the independent candidates running for City Council At-Large: Kendra Brooks and Nic O'Rourke from the Working Families Party and Independent candidate Joe Cox. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 94 ACTION Join 5th Square as a Member TODAY and you can help us shape our endorsements for the general election in the coming weeks. Membership costs as little as $5 a month and comes with the ability to vote in our endorsement process! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 93 ACTION Lombard Street needs a protected bike lane! Lombard Street is being repaved and the City doesn't have any plans to protect this vital stretch that connects cyclists with the South Street Bridge. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 92 ACTION Help win a protected bike lane for Lombard Street! Lombard Street is being repaved and the City doesn't have any plans to protect this vital stretch that connects cyclists with the South Street Bridge.  Sign our petition today to let Councilmember Johnson and The Philadelphia School know that you support a protected bicycle lane for Lombard! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 91 ACTION Take the 2019 Philadelphia Resident Survey to weigh in on quality of life in the city, and what your priorities are for the Kenney administration. Completed entries are entered to win one of twenty $50 gift cards. Continue reading

ACTION Can you take 1 minute to add your voice for a safer Delaware Ave?Sign this petition calling on the City to add protections to the Delaware Ave bike lane Delaware Avenue is being repaved and re-striped right now—and it needs a protected bike lane. That's why we're supporting the Bicycle Coalition's petition action to protect cyclists on Delaware Ave.   Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 89   ACTION Sign our Free Transfers Petition to demand that SEPTA to end the $1 transfer penalty when the SEPTA board votes on fares next spring. SEPTA leadership is still resisting calls from the Kenney administration's transportation team, and from within their own ranks, to eliminate the $1 transfer penalty. Continue reading

ACTION Our July monthly meet-up is happening tonight at Craft Hall (901 N. Delaware Ave.) from 6-8 pm.We're excited to welcome special guest Alex Baca, Housing Program Organizer for D.C.-based urbanist advocacy organization Greater Greater Washington.  Continue reading

ACTION Important street safety legislation is coming up for a general vote in the Pennsylvania State House.  We are asking you to call your state rep today and tell them to vote in favor of House Bill 792,which would give cities and towns across Pennsylvania more flexibility to install protected bike lanes on our state routes in Philadelphia. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 86 All aboard the beach train! To celebrate the return of the Atlantic City Rail Line service between Philadelphia and Atlantic City, we booked a limited-number of discount train tickets for a family-friendly group trip to the beach this Sunday, June 9th. Continue reading

Summer is here and 5th Square has two fun June events coming up that you won't want to miss! Continue reading

The 2019 election results are in, and we at 5th Square want to say THANK YOU for all the help and support Philly's urbanist community provided to us and to candidates during this primary election cycle. There was a lot at stake this year, and with your help, we were able to make our core issues of mobility, land planning, and public space policies an important part of the election season conversation. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 85 VOTE TUESDAY! Tuesday's election is an opportunity that only comes once every four years to really shift the power at City Hall to elected representatives who can help us win more frequent and reliable public transit, safer streets for pedestrians and cyclists, and abundant and affordable housing for all Philadelphians. Read up on 5th Square's 2019 endorsements and vote for a pro-transit, pro-bike, pro-housing City Council tomorrow, Tuesday, May 21st. Continue reading

For the upcoming 2019 primary election on May 21st, 5th Square Endorses: Council At-LargeAdrián RIVERA-REYES #54Helen GYM #56Eryn SANTAMOOR #60Justin DIBERARDINIS #80 District Council 2nd DistrictLauren VIDAS #84 District Council 3rd DistrictJamie GAUTHIER #85 Charter Change Question #4“Public Safety Enforcement Officer” - YES   Continue reading

Candidates for City Council and for other public offices had great responses on public transportation in the "Broke in Philly" questionnaire! Our endorsed candidates especially shined! Most candidates favored family-friendly fares, discounted or free youth rates, expanding university pass programs, optimization of the bus system, and ending the $1 transfer fee. Several Council candidates we didn’t endorse also had good ideas for transit, showing that the tide is turning on this issue. Here are their responses to the question: “How will you increase access to public transportation in Philly?” Continue reading

Next Tuesday May 21st is Primary Election Day!  This election is a once-every-four-years opportunity to make a major difference for urbanist causes in Philadelphia, with local elected officials having outsized responsibility for whether our built environment, and especially our transportation and housing systems, are accessible for all residents. Continue reading

We endorse a "Yes" vote for Proposed Charter Change Question #4 in the upcoming May 21st election, establishing the title of "Public Safety Enforcement Officer" to assist the Police Department in regulating the flow of traffic. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 83 The 2019 Election is in just three weeks!Check out 5th Square's 2019 City Council slate and vote for a pro-transit, pro-bike, pro-housing City Council on Tuesday, May 21st. We're supporting Lauren Vidas for District 2, Jamie Gauthier for District 3, and Helen Gym, Justin DiBerardinis, Eryn Santamoor, and Adrian Rivera-Reyes for At-Large.  Not able to make it into the polls on Election Day?  Click here to get an absentee ballot which must be received by the County Board of Elections by Tuesday, May 14th.   Continue reading

City Council candidates weighed in on bike lanes in the inquirer’s 2019 primary survey, with almost all saying they support more bike lanes. But some of these candidates are incumbents who have wielded some real power over Street apportionment for many years, so rather than ask them about this in the abstract, we can actually check the record to see what they’ve done in practice. Continue reading

ACTION We are deep into Election Season here in Philadelphia, with less than a month to go before the big day on May 21st.  Check out who all is on the ballot using Committee of Seventy's ballot tool and look up your polling place to see where you vote. This week, we are featuring a huge array of candidate events so you can get involved with supporting our endorsed slate of candidates for a more accessible, sustainable, equitable Philadelphia for all residents! Take a look at the following events, pick a few to check out, and sign up with a campaign to help get out the vote in the final weeks of the campaign!  Continue reading

ACTION Are you registered to vote? Have you recently moved or are new to Philly? Make sure you Register to Vote right now!  In order to participate in the upcoming primary election on May 21st, you MUST register to vote (and select a party affiliation) by April 22nd! -- You can register online!   Continue reading

With the City’s ill-conceived rollout of an untested, dirty, and inefficient ‘leaf blower’ program to blow trash around our streets, 5th Square calls on the city to restore what our citizens deserve: consistent, citywide curb-to-curb mechanical street sweeping. Continue reading

ACTION TONIGHT: South Philly and Riverwards neighbors can attend one of three local meetings happening tonight to voice their support for safer streets for biking and walking.  Continue reading

ACTION Pedestrian priority is under threat in Philadelphia's iconic Italian Market, if Midwood Investment gets its way. Will you sign the petition opposing driveways in the 9th Street Market? Continue reading

ACTION Come to our dance party fundraiser THIS THURSDAY to support 5th Square's 2019 candidate slate!   Continue reading

ACTION A protected bike lane could be coming to 22nd Street in Center City, but only if you show up to support it! Continue reading

Come to a dance party fundraiser in the Concourse, and help raise money to support 5th Square's 2019 City Council slate!Meet the candidates and other 5th Square supporters and volunteers who are getting involved to elect a pro-transit, pro-bike, pro-housing City Council on May 21st. Continue reading

ACTION The 2019 City Council primaries are less than 3 months away and this is our best chance to elect a new City Council that will bring about a more accessible, equitable, and sustainable city! Continue reading

ACTION Last week 5th Square announced several early endorsements for the 2019 City Council elections, including Lauren Vidas (2nd Disrict), Jamie Gauthier (3rd District), and At-Large candidates Justin DiBerardinis, Helen Gym, Adrian Rivera-Reyes, and Eryn Santamoor. Visit our 2019 Election Center to read their questionnaire responses and sign up to volunteer.  Continue reading

5th Square political action committee is excited to announce several early endorsements for 2019 City Council seats, including challengers Lauren Vidas and Jamie Gauthier in the 2nd and 3rd Districts, and At-Large candidates Justin DiBerardinis, Helen Gym, Adrian Rivera-Reyes, and Eryn Santamoor.Visit our 2019 Election Center page to read the candidates' questionnaire responses, or sign up to volunteer with a campaign. Continue reading

ACTION 5th Square's mission is to achieve a more accessible, sustainable, and equitable Philadelphia for all residents through better mobility, public space, and built environment policies. The upcoming 2019 City Council election can be a watershed moment to make this mission a political reality. Continue reading

ACTION   Thanks to everyone who came out for one of last Tuesday's dueling events! We had a great time co-hosting the Funding the Civic Commons discussion with Knight, and were glad to see the huge turnout for the City's open house for bike lane infrastructure improvements in Old City and Northern Liberties. Continue reading

ACTION Help advocate for safer streets by attending an open house with the City's Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (oTIS) in partnership with several neighborhood organizations in Northern Liberties tomorrow. There we can learn more about and advocate for protected bicycle lanes on N. 2nd, N. 5th, & N. 6th Streets between Market Street and Spring Garden Street. Continue reading

ACTION 5th Square members are invited to attend a members-only meeting on January 23rd where we'll be kicking off our 2019 City Council organizing efforts with a special briefing on the state of the campaign landscape, and an informal straw poll of members to help focus our 2019 endorsement process. Become a member today or sign up at the meeting, and get involved to help us organize for the 2019 Council elections! Continue reading

ACTION Slow Zone Applications are due this Friday, January 18th!  Check out the advocacy tools on our 'Neighborhood Slow Zone' Campaign Resources page, and get your application in for a slow zone in your neighborhood. Continue reading

ACTION TODAY! Protected Bike Lane Double Feature at Center City RCOs. Support protected bicycle lanes in Philadelphia by attending one of two RCO meetings tonight, both starting at 7pm.   Continue reading

Citizens of New York City rejoiced this week as their Transportation Department announced that motor-vehicle deaths will be at their lowest rate in a century. Through December 26th, 196 fatalities were recorded, an 11% reduction since 2017. The City attributes this to their long-term dedication to Vision Zero, a strategy to eliminate all traffic-related deaths and severe injuries, while increasing safety, health, and mobility for all. Continue reading

The Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability has released their first long-term vision for a major Philadelphia corridor, Roosevelt Boulevard! Read all about 5th Square's response here... Continue reading

We had an amazing time at the 2018 Holiday Party Fundraiser last Thursday! Thank you to everyone who supported us! We had awesome turnout, with over 60 people in attendance, including 8 candidates running for City Council and other seats in 2019. Thanks to your generous support, we're well on our way to amassing the resources we'll need to support urbanist champions for local offices in 2019.  Continue reading

2018 was a banner year for 5th Square political action committee in which our all-volunteer organization achieved tremendous growth in our volunteer power, advocacy capacity, and impact on the public conversation about issues surrounding our mission of a more accessible, sustainable, and equitable Philadelphia. Continue reading