Newsletter: 💰 Bounty for Blocked Bike Lanes / 🚋 Don't Mess with Transit / 🐟 Our Next Meetup in Fishtown

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 202

🍻 MEETUP NEXT THURSDAY

Our October meetup is at the Mural City Cellars Wine Garden in Fishtown. Next Thursday 10/13 @ 6:00pm

This is an outdoor, family-friendly event where we will provide updates on our recent campaigns. We will also be discussing mobility, safe streets, and access to transit specific to Fishtown and the Riverwards neighborhoods.

We are honored to welcome:

  • Maria Quinones-Sanchez, former 7th District Councilmember and candidate for Mayor.
  • Quetcy Lozada, Democratic nominee for the upcoming 7th Council District special election

🚋 NOTE TO POLITICIANS: DON'T MESS WITH TRANSIT

SEPTA's long-overdue trolley modernization project will transform our trolley system to be accessible, fast, and easy to use for everyone.

Right now, SEPTA is soliciting input on Trolley Station Design through an online survey.

As part of getting the ball rolling on this long-overdue project, we rallied transit riders last year to advocate for SEPTA's acquisition of a former GE site in Southwest Philly. Land that ultimately went to Amazon in a back-room political deal.

The Inquirer reports that a new warehouse on that site now sits empty, with Amazon failing to communicate its intentions for the property. The promised jobs have yet to materialize.

State Senator Anthony Hardy Williams, who was a key player in the deal with Amazon, says he now wishes he had supported SEPTA’s plan.

This is an about-face after earlier saying that our push for better transit was "not right, and frankly elitist."

We need politicians who will go to the mat for Philly's transit riders, who want to build a sustainable and equitable 21st-century city -- and not get distracted by empty promises from corporations who damage our city's urban fabric with industrial warehouses for the tenuous prospect of unstable, low-wage, non-union jobs.

🔒 JUST FOR MEMBERS

We are holding policy platform meetings for members only, over Zoom:

Come and help us shape our policy platform as we head into the 2023 campaign season for Philly City Council and Mayor's races! Join us for an hour-long virtual session where we will lay out our current platform and elevate issues you want us to push for in the upcoming electoral cycle.

Become a 5th Square member today and shape our city policies!

Annual Subscriber, $60 per yearMonthly Subscriber, $5 per monthOne Year of Membership, Starting at $60

💰 BOUNTY FOR BLOCKED BIKE LANES

On an typical bike ride around Philly, how many vehicles will you see parked in the bike lane? What if you got paid a bounty for reporting them? A bill in NYC proposes just that.

Citylab writes about this effort and examines its potential for unintended consequences.

Illegal parking is not just a nuisance, it can have deadly consequences by blocking sightlines and forcing pedestrians and cyclists in lanes with moving traffic. Here at 5th Square, we believe in good roadway design being the first line of defense against bad motorist behavior, followed with unarmed enforcement as a strong deterrent.


EVENTS

Wednesday Night Ride / Oct 5  :bicyclist::bridge_at_night::beers:

October 5th - Meet at 7p, roll at 7:10p
Start: Race Street Pier, End: Frankford Hall

BEYOND ZONING: Building Circulation Reform and Infill Housing

Wed, October 5, 2022, 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM EDT
Livestream
Building codes are often overlooked for their impact on who builds housing, for whom and where. This panel will discuss the impacts of egress requirements in North American building codes on housing affordability, location and design.

“How I Moved House by Bicycle” with Nelson Chu Pavlosky

October 8 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Iffy Books, 319 N. 11th St. #3E
Nelson Chu Pavlosky will give a presentation on how he moved from one house to another entirely by bike. It was a 12-mile trip uphill, from South Philly to the Mt. Airy neighborhood.

DAG Public Space Working Group

Tue, October 11, 2022, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM EDT
Sister Cities Park, 210 North 18th Street
Join DAG at Sister Cities Park at 6pm for the second working group meeting to discuss concerns of public space in Philadelphia. Bring a current event article or topic to talk about.

DAG Spring Garden Connector Project

Thu, October 27, 2022, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM EDT
Virtual
Join DAG and representatives to discuss the project history, design best practices, funding, and future actions.


SURVEYS & EMAIL ACTIONS


WHAT WE'RE READING

Feet First Philly Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant - Feet First Philly is partnering with the Department of Public Health to provide funding for mini-grants of $500 to $2000 to create public space enhancements and safety improvements where they are needed the most. Residents and community groups in low income communities and communities of color are strongly encouraged to apply. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, October 11th at 11:59PM.


VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Wednesday Night Rides is looking for volunteers to help plan routes, assist with the rides, or any other input. If you enjoyed past rides, this is a good way to get involved.

BCGP’s 2022 Bicycle Counts - Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia is looking for volunteers interested in helping us with this process between September 6 and October 28.  Bike counts happen on weekday mornings and evening from 7:30 – 9:00 AM and from 4:30 – 6:00 PM, weather permitting. Sign up today!


JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Robert Schalkenbach Foundation / Full Stack Geospatial Developer

Northern Liberties Neighbors Association / Executive Director

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection / Environmental Community Relations Specialist

Habitat for Humanity / Chief Financial Officer

Center City District / Retail Development Manager

Tri-State Transportation Campaign / Active Transportation Coordinator

Free Library of Philadelphia / Library Assistant 1

Office of Congressman Dwight Evans / Digital Media Manager

Northern Liberties Neighbors Association / Executive Director

Transit Forward Philadelphia / Coalition Manager

City of Philadelphia / Senior Director, Data and Analytics

Center City District / Retail Development Manager

Shift Capital / Development Finance Manager

DVRPC /

Lawrence Hopewell Trail / Executive Director

Lutheran Settlement House / Administrative Assistant

jawnt / Customer Success Manager


5th Square is Philadelphia's urbanist political action committee.

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