Photo: Amy Z. Quinn | NewsWorks
- The Giovannone brothers, who took a fair amount of slack for demolishing Ridge Avenue’s Bunting House late last year, met with the concerned members of the Wissahickon Interested Citizens Association on Wednesday, assuring them that plans to attract a Wendy’s have been aborted, yet other efforts in finding another business have also failed. “We’re going to do our best to find the perfect thing for this corner,” promises Frank Giovannone.
- Inga Saffron applauds the year-and-a-half long effort to update—block by block—the zoning classifications of what is being deemed the “Central District,” the area of Greater Center City from Girard to Washington. After seeing an advanced rendition of the new zoning map (the public will first see it on Tuesday), Saffron admitted that “nothing terribly radical was proposed – unless you consider zoning that favors a dense, transit-oriented, tech-friendly, mixed-use downtown a radical notion… Essentially, planners want to contain super-tall towers within a narrow band of the city where transit is strongest. Note, the word is contain, not limit… Clustering skyscrapers makes a lot of sense because it prevents bizarre juxtapositions of scale.”
- Yesterday “the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia gathered scholars and other experts to discuss suggestions for the future of the [John Coltrane] house” so that current homeowner Lenora Early can help guide the historic home’s revitalization. Ought there be convert space—youth instruction space?
- Grid treks through Southwest Philadelphia’s expansive John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in the search for the state animal of Pennsylvania—the white-tailed deer. Refuge officials estimate that the deer population is about nine times of what the park can reasonably sustain.
- Before SEPTA can roll out its state-of-the-art fare system next year, riders will be paying about 25% more to access public transportation, reports NewsWorks.
About the author
Stephen Currall recently received his BA in history from Arcadia University. Before beginning doctoral studies, he is pursuing his interest in local history, specifically just how Philadelphians engage their vibrant past. Besides skimming through 18th century letters, Steve is also interested in music and travel.
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’25% more’ is a bit misleading, I’d say. That’s only after two stages, and only for single-ride cash fares (transfers remain the same); the increase in other forms is closer to 10 – 15%. For the level of transit service we enjoy, fares are still comparable with those of other large systems throughout the US.
As long as these increases don’t come along with deep service cuts (which they don’t), as they have done all too often elsewhere recently, I don’t have a problem with them, myself. I say this as a car-free, low-income transit rider in Kensington. Just my own opinion, your mileage may vary…
“took a fair amount of slack”? They might have wanted some slack, but it sounds like they actually took a fair amount of grief.