🐕 PETITION: Give Greyhound Riders Shelter
We demand the Mayor and the Streets Department to require Greyhound to shelter their waiting riders and begin work on a new bus terminal.
In 2022, Greyhound notified the Philadelphia Streets Department that it was ending its lease on the bus terminal at Filbert St. Their plan was to transition to strictly curbside pickup, competing with its budget competitors.
By allowing this to happen, the Mayor and Streets Department created a humanitarian crisis.
Suitcases piled up on the street, no access to bathrooms, and travelers left exposed to the elements. By failing to hold Greyhound accountable to its riders, you have risked the lives of thousands to heat waves, torrential rain, and Code Red air quality.
Sign and SHARE this petition to demand that Mayor Kenney and his Streets Departments take the necessary steps to ensure the health of Philadelphians and the usability of our transit services.
💳 Fare Wins Are In Effect!
On July 1st, a pair of small but important SEPTA fare changes happened, both of which we've been pushing the agency to do for years.
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SEPTA Key users now get TWO free transfers with their initial base fare within a 2-hour window.
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All Transpasses now include Regional Rail access within Zone 1 and also the Airport. On weekends and holidays, the pass covers every regional rail station!
More excitingly, SEPTA has billed these changes as "important early actions," which we hope will mean further fare integration of the transit and regional rail -- including accepting transfers between these two modes.
5TH SQUARE IN THE NEWS
💰 Ideas We Should Steal: No More Traffic Deaths
Last week, J.P. Romney of the Philadelphia Citizen interviewed our chair, Dena Driscoll, about how our city has been progressing towards its goal of zero roadway deaths by 2030 (vision zero)... it doesn't look good.
“They know what streets are the worst,” says Driscoll. “They know what works to make them better. In the end, the City has just chosen not to invest in this. Ultimately the City has decided it’s not a priority to prevent vehicle deaths.”
Only through using political will to invest in comprehensive city-wide traffic calming, seen in cities Hoboken, can we here in Philly start to chip away at traffic fatalities.
🏖️ 5th Square Beach Trip
Join us for a family-friendly day down the shore this summer with your favorite group of Urbanist advocates. We're headed to Atlantic City and have a fun day planned of hoagie-eating, jitney-riding, beach-laying, and of course, margarita-drinking.
Saturday, August 12th, 8AM - 7PM
Tickets are $60 for Adults 12+, $30 for Children 5-11, Free for Kids 4 & under.
- Train & Jitney Fare
- Hoagie Tray from White House Subs
- Food & Drink at Tennessee Ave Beer Hall
The best way to stay cool this summer is to rock our "Build the Roosevelt Blvd Subway" CROP TOP -- now in stock!
Looking to buy the T-Shirt? Click Here!
You can help us make a walkable, transit-friendly city for everyone. Become a 5th Square member today for $5 a month. New Member signups get a free Blvd Subway T-Shirt!
EVENTS
5th Square Strava Group
Not a specific event, but 5th Square recently started a Strava Club. Join with other Philly urbanists in seeing how far you can take your cargo bike! Or record how far you can run when your bus or trolley is ghosting you.
August Family Bike Ride (And Storytime)
SUNDAY, AUGUST 6, 2023 AT 10 AM at Washington Avenue Pier
August edition of our all-ages, all-levels bike ride. All are welcome- kids on bikes, kids in bike seats, trailers and cargo bikes. Meet up at the trail entrance across from Dunkin Donuts. Roll out at 10:15. We'll stay on the Delaware River Trail and ride to Penn Treaty Park. At Penn Treaty, we'll have a read aloud of Pedal Power by Allan Drummond, take a few minutes to rest and play, then ride back to Washington Ave.
WHAT WE'RE READING
🏙️ HOUSING & LAND USE
🌳 PUBLIC SPACE
🚌 TRANSIT
🚴 MOBILITY
GRANTS & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
DVRPC is seeking paid participants for Environmental Justice Focus Groups
If you live in an Environmental Justice (EJ) community, we want to hear from you! An environmental justice community is a neighborhood, composed predominantly of persons of color and/or persons living below the poverty line, that experiences a significantly reduced quality of life relative to surrounding or similar communities. Participants will receive a stipend of $100 for online or $125 for in person focus groups. Focus groups will be held between July 10, 2023 and August 9, 2023.
The Philly chapter of Documenters is having their first training session on July 19th at 6pm. If you're unfamiliar with the organization, the gist is they train you and then you get paid to attend and document public meetings.
Community Design Collaborative and StreetBoxPHL Request for Parklet and Ped Plaza Proposals
The Collaborative and StreetBoxPHL are partnering to support transforming streets into public spaces across Philadelphia. Community Based Organizations (CBO's) considering, or currently developing, Parklets, Pedestrian Plazas, or other interventions in the Right Of Way (ROW) to debut in 2024, and looking for design support are encouraged to fill out the form below by August 4th 2023 to participate in the ROW Steward Services Initiative:
StreetBoxPHL - Right Of Way Roundtable
Are you a BID manager, RCO Board Member, or are you the one on your block who organizes block clean ups, block parties, or other gatherings in the street? Join StreetBoxPHL for the Right Of Way Roundtable (ROW Roundtable) a monthly on-line meeting this Fall 2023. If you take care of public spaces in city streets, or want to learn how to build them, sign up here.
StreetBoxPHL | Graduate Fellowship Opportunity 2023-2024
StreetBoxPHL (SBP) is seeking a highly-qualified (graduate) student Fellow to help launch its ROW Roundtable series, increase its communications and advocacy efforts, and support programmatic efforts to provide technical assistance to stewards of public spaces in the ROW, in collaboration with SBP’s partners. due 7/21
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
The Bicycle Coalition Youth Cycling (BCYC) Program is looking for our next leader! BCYC is currently hiring a BCYC Director to lead the Youth Cycling Program to continue to grow and join the leadership team of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.
Greater Philadelphia YMCA is hiring part-time instructors for its growing after-school watershed education program. Watershed Education by Bike (WEB) is a groundbreaking program that gets youth active by teaching them how to safely ride in urban, suburban and trail environments, while also focusing on watershed and environmental education
Sam Schwartz, a TYLin Company, is a leading transportation engineering, planning, and environmental firm known nationally for our ability to solve complex transportation problems with creative, multi-modal solutions.
Forman Arts Initiative / Executive Director
Old City District / Economic Development Coordinator
SEPTA / Planner
The City of Cambridge / Assistant Commissioner for Street Management/Director of Traffic + Parking
NewCourtland / Social Services Coordinator
Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia /
- Build Project Manager
- Build Staff Carpenter
- Chief Financial Officer
- Construction Volunteer Leader
- Corporate Relations Manager
- Donor Relations Manager
- Events Coordinator
- Home Sales Mortgage Admin
- Instructor - Carpentry Fellowship
- Restore Associate
- Lead Carpenter
- Marketing and Communications Director
- Project Development Associate
- ReStore Assistant Manager
- ReStore Truck Driver
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