Weekly Newsletter, Issue 169 ✍️ KEEP UP THE PRESSURE AT WASHINGTON AVENUE This weekend, we were out on our Washington Ave Families event, making signs and postcards against the street layout changes. Continue reading

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, February 10, 2022PHILADELPHIA — On Monday, 5th Square established its Safer Washington Avenue Fund, specifically dedicated to electing Philadelphia candidates who will pledge to uphold the City's stated Vision Zero goals. In four days, it has drawn more than $10,000 in donations. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 168 ✉️ WASHINGTON AVENUE IN JEOPARDY We are asking everyone to contact OTIS, the Mayor, and Councilmembers Johnson & Squilla to tell them we want the safest possible option for Washington Ave -- the original 3-lane layout. Continue reading

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESunday, February 6, 2022PHILADELPHIA — Yesterday, the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS) released its update on the Washington Avenue Repaving and Improvement Project which backtracked from their September 2020 “Final Design Decision.” The City’s new plan eliminates the safest roadway layout, the 3-lane layout, from consideration in its design. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 167 🎩 RUN FOR A COMMITTEE PERSON SEAT IN 2022 Want to take the next step up toward neighborhood political leadership, and help 5th Square support great candidates for office in the 2022 and 2023 elections? Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 166 🏗️ BOOK EVENT: CONFESSIONS OF A RECOVERING ENGINEER Join 5th Square and friends for a guest talk by Chuck Marohn, founder of Strong Towns, at Philly Office Retail at 4701 Germantown Ave. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 165 ✅🚲🏙️ JOIN US FOR THE 2022 ELECTIONS Help us decide which Philly-area candidates to support for 2022 races in the PA State Senate and PA State House. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 164 ☃️ HOLIDAY PARTY INVITATION You're invited to our fun year-end Holiday Party at 990 Spring Garden on Wednesday, December 22nd at 7 PM, where we'll be holding off our Third Annual Urbanist Awards ceremony! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 163 🏆 Nominate Your Faves for Our Annual Urbanist Awards! We are taking nominations for the following categories through Friday, December 10th: Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 162 📛 MEETUP THIS THURSDAY Join 5th Square organizers and volunteers for an informal, in-person meet-up in West Philly this Thursday at 6 PM. This is an indoor/outdoor, family-friendly event where we will provide updates on our recent campaigns and talk about what's in store as we start to wrap up 2021. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 161 📛 NOVEMBER MEETUP Join 5th Square organizers and volunteers for an informal, in-person meet-up in West Philly at 42nd & Pine. This is an indoor/outdoor, family-friendly event where we will provide updates on our recent campaigns and talk about what's in store as we start to wrap up 2021. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 160 🔊 ACTION: TELL PENNDOT TO SUPPORT WALKING, BIKING & TRANSIT PennDOT is seeking input on the Draft Pennsylvania 2045 Long-Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) until TOMORROW, 10/19. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 159 👓 PUTTING THE EYE IN TRANSIT THIS WEDNESDAY, October 13, 6:00pm - In Person ⁠Join DesignPhiladelphia for Putting the Eye in Transit: The Research Behind SEPTA’s New Wayfinding System, an in-person panel discussion organized by the Weitzman School. Continue reading

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, September 30, 2021 PHILADELPHIA — Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 158 🤝 MEET-UP TOMORROW! Due to the rain, our outdoor meetup has moved to tomorrow evening. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 157 🍻 MEET-UP THIS THURSDAY 5th Square September Meet-Up // Thursday, Sep 23, 2021 - 6 PM Join 5th Square organizers and volunteers for an informal, in-person meet-up over at Cosmic Cafe & Ciderhouse! Continue reading

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETuesday, September 21, 2021PHILADELPHIA — 5th Square applauds SEPTA leadership’s openness to reimagining the kind of service that regional rail can provide throughout our region. Continue reading

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEWednesday, September 8, 2021 PHILADELPHIA — 5th Square congratulates SEPTA on the release of its Wayfinding Master Plan and eagerly awaits its implementation in the coming years on rail transit lines. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 156 🚇 MEET SEPTA METRO SEPTA just unveiled their proposed wayfinding design for our region's rail transit network! We LOVE this new design that simplifies and unifies the Subway, El, Trolleys, and NHSL into a seamless network. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 155 🚪 HOW THE US MADE AFFORDABLE HOMES ILLEGAL The folks at VOX created a great video explaining the nationwide housing shortage and how cities across the US, including Philadelphia, have made it illegal to build more affordable homes. Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 154 🚌 TRANSIT FOR ALL PA! PLATFORM Pennsylvania’s transit services could see major cuts next year, and it’s not about Coronavirus—it’s our legislature! Continue reading

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 153 🔊 YOUR VOICE FOR BETTER BUSES Take Transit Forward Philadelphia's 5-minute bus network survey and you will be entered into a raffle to receive a $50 VISA gift card! Continue reading

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