Newsletter: 🚵 Demand Safer Streets for Frankford | 🏗️ How to Shape Development in 2021 | 📽️ Bicycle Film Festival

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!

Email your comments to [email protected] with the subject "Section BS2"

"Bridge St and Tacony St are critical streets for access between the residential neighborhoods and the Delaware River Trail and its waterfront parks in Northeast Philadelphia. Please install protected bike lanes, comfortable and wide sidewalks, traffic calming interventions, and safe crossings along both Bridge St and Tacony St. to improve access for people of all ages and abilities in the project area to and from the Delaware River Trail and nearby neighborhood destinations."

For more comment suggestions, click here.

 


5TH SQUARE IN THE NEWS

Our illustrious member Camille Boggan wrote an opinion piece for WHYY's PlanPhilly: "How to shape Philly development in 2021."

In it, she implores neighbors who feel strongly about neighborhood change and development to go beyond social media posting and connect with their community organizations to find viable solutions for their neighborhood.

Simply opposing demolitions without a way to incentivize their renovation will likely lead to residential buildings sitting empty, exacerbating Philadelphia’s affordable housing problem. 

 


Rachel Mae McQuiston of Philadelphia Neighborhoods covered our ever-growing petition asking SEPTA to adapt to Covid-19 by restoring service and lowering fares on Regional Rail.

State Rep. Christopher Rabb of the 200th District, which contains six of the Chestnut Hill West line’s nine stops outside Center City, said many of his constituents have been affected by this extended closure and have reached out to him via phone call, email, and social media. These calls pushed Rabb to sign 5th Square’s petition himself. 

 


CBS3 quotes 5th Square in support of the efforts by Transit Workers Union Local 234 to improve SEPTA's practices safeguarding their employees from the coronavirus.

“5th Square supports SEPTA workers and their families, who have kept our city moving throughout the pandemic. SEPTA is a lifeline to essential workers managing our region’s public health response, and SEPTA’s frontline workers are essential workers themselves. We stand with everyone calling for a more robust and comprehensive testing, tracing, and vaccination program within SEPTA, and in the city as a whole.

SEPTA needs more funding now to do right by its workers and riders, and we call on our federal representatives in Congress to appropriate the outstanding $17 billion in emergency transit funding needed to keep transit running here and across America. We also call on our PA state representatives to get to work on a sustainable transit funding program to replace Act 44 as it scales down funding in 2022. Transit, and our transit workers, are essential, and it’s time for our elected leaders to deliver the aid we need.”

 


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When you join as a member, you help us raise the resources we need to keep building and mobilizing our base of supporters again and again, whether it's for safer streets, better transit, or dozens of other local issues in your area, or in city and state elections.

 


EVENTS

Thursday, January 21, 12:30 PM – 2:30 PM
8 80 Cities | Winter-Friendly Cities: Addressing Social Isolation in Winter Webinar
Representatives from Buffalo, NY, Eau Claire, WI, and Leadville, CO will share their experiences on engaging communities to create more inclusive, winter-friendly public spaces that support social connection and reduce social isolation.

Friday, January 29 to Sunday, February 7
BCGP | 20th Annual Bicycle Film Festival
The 20th Anniversary of Bicycle Film Festival is going virtual! BFF Philadelphia includes a Bicycle Film Festival (BFF) Select Shorts Program (90 min runtime) as well as a panel discussion hosted by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

 


SURVEYS

BCGP | User Survey about MLK Drive

Tell the Bicycle Coalition about your experience biking, walking or running on MLK Drive.

 

Philadelphia Office of Sustainability | Philadelphia Climate Action Playbook Public Survey

The following survey will: Ask you to answer questions about how you are personally responding to climate change. Ask you to review each of the three action-areas and provide your thoughts and feedback on how the City is responding to climate change. The survey should take about 5-10 minutes to complete. Responses will remain anonymous.

 

DVRPC | Focus Groups (paid)

DVRPC plans to hold three 90-minute focus groups using the Zoom video conferencing platform. These will be planned for sometime between now and March 31, 2021. Focus groups will include between six and twelve participants each and will be recorded to create a transcript of the focus group. Video recordings will be expunged 90 days after recording. Participants will receive a stipend of $50 based on attendance at an assigned focus group.

 


INFOGRAPHIC OF THE WEEK

From The Transport Politic, "Too little, too late? A decade of transit investment in the U.S."

Even as the country was adding 1,200 miles of expanded transit service, it added an estimated 28,500 new lane-miles of arterials—roadways like Interstates, highways, and the four-plus-lane “stroads” that constitute many of our cities and suburban areas. This is infrastructure hostile to pedestrians and transit users—and likely to reinforce patterns of automobile dependency and sprawl.

That’s roughly 24 times as many new roadway miles as improved transit miles. Who can blame Americans for continuing to drive? Transit offerings simply have not kept up.

 


WHAT WE'RE READING

🌳 PUBLIC SPACE & ENVIRONMENT



🚴 MOBILITY


🏙️ HOUSING & LAND USE


GRANT, PROJECT, & TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

DVRPC | The Travel Options Program (TOP), Expression of Interest Form

DVRPC’s new Travel Options Program is looking to fund innovative projects to provide better access to more travel options. Work to develop new ideas for getting around the region! Submissions are due by Friday, January 22nd at 5:00 p.m. 

NACTO | 2021 Transportation Justice Fellowship

The National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) seeks mobility practitioners who identify as people of color* to take part in a project-based fellowship program for mid-career professionals in the US.

PHDC | RFP for Hawthorne 13th Street et Al

PHDC, on behalf of the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (PRA), is soliciting proposals from developers to acquire and develop 614-26 S. 13th Street (including 1306-10 Kater Street and 1309-13 Bainbridge Street) located in South Philadelphia’s Hawthorne neighborhood for affordable housing. (Due 1/31)

The City of Philadelphia | DPD Housing Benefits

The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) supports many programs and services that help residents buy, repair, and keep their home. By answering a few questions below, you will get a list of programs for which you may be eligible.

Online Zoom Trainings - 2021 - PEC's CDIT

Start the year off right with a new skills class! PEC's CDIT will be hosting computer trainings over Zoom! 

 


JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Philadelphia Education Fund | Fundraiser and Donor Relations Manager

The University of Pennsylvania | Senior Associate Director, Penn Transit

HACE | Livability Academy Coordinator

McCormick Taylor | Web Developer

Azavea | User Experience Designer, Entry-level Software Engineer, Chief Operating Officer

NACTO | Program Manager, Cities for Cycling

The Welcoming Center | Grant Manager (Full Time)

HKA | Independent Consultants - Engineering

Montgomery County, PA | Planner 

AARP | Associate State Director, Advocacy

Looney Ricks Kiss | Project Manager, Project Architect

African American Chamber of Commerce PA, NJ, and DE | Director, Membership and Program Development

City of Philadelphia, The Office of Director of Finance | Participatory Budgeting Project Coordinator

Community Ventures | Project Associate/Manager

William Penn Foundation | Communications Associate, Creative Communities

Street Plans | Project Planner / Junior Project Manager, Office Manager

PEW | Senior Associate, Home Financing, Senior Officer, Philadelphia Research and Policy Initiative

City of Philadelphia, The Office of Immigrant Affairs | Language Access Program Manager

NKCDC | Director of Finance

WHYY | News Director

PHDC | Application Support Analyst, Development Specialist, Real Estate Director, Housing Development Officer, Housing Rehabilitation Inspector, Senior Counsel, Vice President of Finance

PACDC | Policy Director

Mural Arts Philadelphia | Social Media and Marketing Manager, Director of Communications and Brand Management

City of Norristown, PA | Assistant Director of Finance

The Common Market | Operations Team Leader

The University of Pennsylvania | Senior Research Implementation Lead

DVRPC | Data Specialist

Indego | Lead Expansion Technician, Dispatch Supervisor

Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia | Operations Manager, Policy Intern, Development Intern

 


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