Newsletter: 🏖️ Come to Our Beach Trip! / ⏸️ Conshy Garage Paused / 🅿️Finally! Sidewalk Parking Enforcement

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 241

🏖️ 5th Square Beach Trip

What are you doing next Saturday? Join us in a daytrip to Atlantic City by beach train! We 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.

Includes:
  • Train & Jitney Fare
  • Hoagie Tray from White House Subs
  • Food & Drink at Tennessee Ave Beer Hall

⏸️ Conshohocken Parking Garage Paused

In welcome news, SEPTA has paused the planned $48 million, 500+ space, parking garage for Conshohocken train station.

This comes after manymanymany, many editorials and comments at SEPTA board meetings from transit advocates, including from 5th Square, calling on SEPTA to prioritize riders over cars.

As previously proposed, the parking garage here would cost the agency roughly $100,000-a-space to build. This expense would be an enormous waste of precious transit funding to subsidize suburban car owners, the richest and most fickle segment of SEPTA’s customers. What actually grows ridership is dense, walkable destinations -- a sprawling parking deck is antithetical to this.

SEPTA is now working with the municipality on a mixed-use plan that will allow more people to access this transit-accessible site.


🅿️Finally! Sidewalk Parking Enforcement

As Billy Penn covered: after years of advocacy and a multiple approaches to curb illegal sidewalk parking outside a Rec Center in Fishtown, the campaign is finally successful after the PPA started ticketing.

Rich Lazer, the new PPA executive director, is finally doing something about this serious quality of life issue that forces residents -- children and the elderly -- into walking in the street because their path is blocked by a motorist using the sidewalk to store their personal vehicle.

We applaud this move and hope the PPA can expand their efforts to clear sidewalks city-wide for pedestrian use.


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!

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


🐕 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.


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!


EVENTS

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.

Thu, Sep 15, 2022 at 10:00 AM
2770 Red Lion Road, Philadelphia, PA 19114
Free Philadelphia Hiring Fair for those in the building and construction trades! Attention employers and jobseekers!

WHAT WE'RE READING

🏙️ HOUSING & LAND USE

🌳 PUBLIC SPACE

🚌 TRANSIT

🚴 MOBILITY


GRANTS & OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

Vacant and Abandoned Properties Dashboard
This dashboard helps community organizations in Philadelphia prioritize vacant and abandoned properties for anti-gun violence interventions.

Seeking
  • Product manager (to pair w/founder)
  • Project management
  • User researcher
  • UX design/strategy
  • Front end engineer w/mapping experience
  • Python data engineer

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.


JOB OPPORTUNITIES

City of Philadelphia

DVRPC

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.

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. Director, General Manager New Jersey/Pennsylvania

Forman Arts Initiative / Executive Director

Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia /

U3 Advisors / Associate

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

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