So folks seem to be going bananas about the new parklet – the biggest one yet – that the University City District has installed outside of the new building on 40th Street across from The Fresh Grocer at 125 S. 40th. That’s the boxy building with Hai Street Kitchen, Zesto Pizza and Grill, Jake’s Sandwich Board and Dunkin Donuts. It’s 60 feet long – the parklet that is – and the usual 6 feet wide.
This big ole parklet spans the length of the building and has caught the eye of folks around the Twittersphere. Here is everything you need to know about the new parklet:
Plan Philly claims it’s the “largest parklet on Earth”:
Largest parklet on Earth + sushi burritos: two great tastes that taste great together. http://t.co/i6he1hhUxj @ucdphl pic.twitter.com/kOGEyJMn5U
— PlanPhilly (@PlanPhilly) July 17, 2015
NewsWorks (A WHYY jawn) calls it a “Super-parklet”:
PlanPhilly: Spotted: Super-parklet on 40th St http://t.co/IS3ZPINjXi pic.twitter.com/mXWSSGdo0a
— NewsWorks (@NewsWorksWHYY) July 17, 2015
Curbed Philly has a video of it being put together:
Watch Philly’s newest (and largest!) Parklet get installed. H/T @ucdphl @SHIFT__DESIGN http://t.co/qilChwijyG pic.twitter.com/X1Coj1SbuQ
— Curbed Philly (@CurbedPhilly) July 17, 2015
And the Philadelphia Business Journal called it a “magnet for social activity”:
University City District: New 60-foot parklet ‘magnet for social activity’ http://t.co/omuLMjYi32 via @PHLBizJournal
— Lori Klein Brennan (@lori4nature) July 17, 2015
July 17th, 2015 at 1:10 pm
And how many parking spaces are gone? Our streets taken away so some Penn kiddies can eat a $15 burrito. SMH
July 17th, 2015 at 1:24 pm
There is literally an 8-story parking garage directly across the street above Fresh Grocer–AND an mfl station 2 blocks away.
July 17th, 2015 at 1:36 pm
SMH: Considering that parallel parking spaces tend to clock in around 20ft., it got rid of 3, maybe 4 spots for cars (which were metered 2 hr spots anyway). As Relax points out, there’s an enormous garage literally 100 feet from this spot.
There’s lots of transit on/near that block, teenagers coming to see movies at the Rave, families shopping at the Fresh Grocer… Point being, I don’t think it’s just Penn kids using this space.
If the (actually$8-$10) burritos at Hai Street strike you as a bad deal, there is also a Dunkin Donuts and a McDonald’s bordering the parklet.
July 17th, 2015 at 1:50 pm
This simple sitting area improves the area both economically and aesthetically, yet people complain. Unbelievable.
Four or five spaces at most. This doesn’t take up any more precious parking than when the new building there was under construction and prevented parking along the exact same stretch. There is plenty of other street parking in this area, and a garage right across the street.
“Our streets” are a lot better now than they were 10 years ago, thanks in part to the development and revenue generated by the local universities and the students that attend them. If you want to live in the slums, you should move somewhere else. Keep shaking your head, maybe it will help you wake up and open your eyes to the positive changes happening all over West Philly.
July 17th, 2015 at 2:18 pm
Anyone can sit in the parklet. You sit and eat your wonderbread and jelly there.
Less parking? Good. Leave your bloody car at home for once and walk around.
July 17th, 2015 at 5:55 pm
SMH: I’m with you. This is bullshit. I think they should take this down immediately and move it over to 44th street.
July 17th, 2015 at 11:37 pm
I am still mourning the loss of a brownstone c.1870 Gothic Revival Victorian church by noted architect Samuel Sloan that used to be there. What replaced the historic structure? … a one story crappy box with fast food joints in it!
July 19th, 2015 at 10:17 pm
I agree with Mark on this. One of an increasing number of losses of beautiful old buildings. Having just returned from Edinburgh, which like many other European cities has done a brilliant job of retaining its history and skyline, and repurposing old buildings, it’s a shame to see Philly rather mindlessly destroying its history and turning the place into cheap commercial structures.
July 20th, 2015 at 3:41 am
I don’t think any buildings were destroyed to create the parklet ???
July 20th, 2015 at 10:50 am
Annoyed that everyone gets upset with the developer for tearing the old church down but not a word about the congregation that sold the property without a historic designation in place knowing full well demolition was a possibility.
July 23rd, 2015 at 10:37 am
Agreed with Mark and Val. No, nothing was demolished to create this parklet. Nonetheless, it’s thin consolation for what used to stand next door — a beautiful and historically significant church that other cities would have striven to save. How much does it cost to set up a parklet? For a fraction of that amount, the Historical Commission or the Preservation Alliance could easily have produced the nomination required to landmark the building. Instead, we’ve got a Dunkin’ Donuts and a nice seating area that will soon be moved elsewhere. This is what short-sighted, quick-cash development looks like without a decent survey of the city’s historic buildings or the political will to bring such a thing about. Thanks again, Mayor Nutter & Co.
July 23rd, 2015 at 12:26 pm
I’m all for preserving history and I like old buildings, but how many of our old buildings are churches? Not many people used this particular church, and I’m not really sure what other uses that you get out of a church, other than a little bit of use as community space. They’re kind of like IHOPs, you can convert them into something else, but you take one look and say that that used to be an IHOP. Did something of historical significance happen at this particular church that we need to preserve it as a museum/landmark? If so, then it was a mistake taking it down. If not, I prefer the tax revenue.
July 26th, 2015 at 2:29 pm
Glad I’m not the only resident to find these tacky and unnecessary installations (they’re called “parklets,” huh?) to be extremely annoying. They are a blight. Plus they force pedestrians crossing the street to make wide detours around them instead of just walking between the parked cars which would have been there otherwise.
July 26th, 2015 at 6:29 pm
It’s a lovely parklet and I’m glad there are nice places to sit along this popular corridor. Calling it a “blight” makes me think that maybe you haven’t spent enough time looking around Philly… You know, at the actual blight.
People will find a way to complain about anything….
If you’re looking for parking, try the gigantic garage across the street.
July 26th, 2015 at 9:36 pm
I’m not personally looking for parking, I don’t own a car nor do i desire to. But as I mentioned, they do interfere with pedestrian traffic. And I don’t know why people want to sit eating their food so close to exhaust fumes, but that’s their business. I still think they’re unnecessary obstructions. They make me recall the old saying, “this is West Philly, University City is a marketing concept.”
July 27th, 2015 at 7:35 am
Except that is clearly UPenn, which is obviously University City. You could stop J-walking and your issue with how they affect pedestrians becomes a non-issue…
West Philly is a wonderful place, parklets and all. Now if we could get people to stop whining about every little thing…
July 27th, 2015 at 10:21 am
If you enjoy car exhaust with your Fast food GMO meal then by all means enjoy the parklet.
If you enjoy being asked for change or stared at while trying to eat your lunch enjoy the parklet!
If you enjoy Councilmanic Pejorative and all decisions being made for you by Jannie Blackwell and the 1% enjoy that Parklet!!!
I for one will be enjoying the wonderful green grass located across the street, where I share my picnic with whomever happenstances by.
#stopgentrifyingwestphiladelphia
#UCITYisWESTPHILADELPHIA
#intergrationnotgentrification
July 27th, 2015 at 2:16 pm
What does this parklet have to do with gentrification? No one said anything about gentrification.
Did you just pick up on the idea of gentrification? This is an argument that has been beat to death in the last 15 years. That area of upenn has been “gentrified” for years… By the way, the parklets are for use by anyone, not just the patrons of DD…
I see that you brought GMO into this… Me thinks you’re one of those hypocrites who moved here “first” and anyone else who moved here after you is a gentrifier and you aren’t… Convenient.
No one said anything about supporting Jannie Blackwell… Where did that come from?
I’m pretty sure I’m not of the 1%…
I love the way you knock the panhandler too… That’s cute. My guess is that they too were here before the parklet and they’ll be here after the parklet. Too bad they can’t share a picnic with you in the green space…
Lots of misguided anger and willful ignorance. All for a parklet… I just don’t get it.
#youhadyourchancetocleanyourneighborhoodup
#butyoudidnt
#sonowsomeoneelseiscleaningitup
#andthatmakesyoumad
Instead of hating on everything, be part of something that you can be proud of. The libraries can always use volunteers. 52nd street could use some volunteer street sweepers. 41st and Lancaster could use some volunteer citizens to clear the open air drug markets…
There are lots of things you can do instead of knock the “gentry”. Make your own difference.
July 27th, 2015 at 5:48 pm
@J I clean my street, work for three community gardens, attend my association meetings and volunteer time there. I collect clothing for people who need it wash them and give them away. I volunteer for the elderly as an advocate and spend thirty hours a week mentoring a young girl. People are always welcome to eat lunch with me behind the library. I always bring extra. If some one is hungry in my neighborhood they know I will always give them a meal, charge their phones and I accept mail for people who otherwise could not get their mail. I am housing a survivor of domestic abuse. I do my part to be the solution.
#payattention If Ms Blackwell had not allowed this over development of the West Philadelphia area and not sold out to these carpetbagging developers we could have had an integrated neighborhood and not this cluster f**** of glass and metal that will be empty and defunct in less than twenty years. Parklets? how about a PARK!
Yes it is gentrification we sat on the grass before the building boom we will sit on the grass after the building boom, They can sit their lilly white arses on the grass too.
The drug activity on lancaster? It wasn’t there when Mantua Community Planners were active. It got worse when “they” decided to blight the area for a supermarket! Blocks and blocks of houses are being raised and stolen through eminent domaine. There were good people in the Mantua area that were run out by the political machine and their croonies. All in the name of Gentrification.
July 27th, 2015 at 10:08 pm
These uunwarranted obstructions extend well into the neighborhood in the Baltimore Ave. vicinity. It’s hard to put one’s finger on, but even many of us who prefer some aspects of so-called gentrification to living in crime-infested squalor get a yucky feeling from this “parklet” proliferation. They contribute to a sense that we’re living in a giant extended Starbucks. (And I think the comment about “jaywalking” is telling.)
July 28th, 2015 at 8:04 am
There is something other than the two choices, gentrification or squalor. It is called integration. Sweden, Norway, Iceland and many other countries have done this. It can be done here. It isn’t always Black or White.
These parklets are not good for the community in general. No matter how we state it… These parklets are IMO an elitist move.
July 28th, 2015 at 9:55 am
It’s actually hilarious that people are against parklets. Living in West Philly feels more and more like a Portlandia sketch everyday.
July 28th, 2015 at 9:57 am
Parklets are an inexpensive way to add places to sit to the area. I almost can’t believe that anyone would complain about extending a sidewalk in a way that invites more people to sit and enjoy the neighborhood. No parks were taken away to provide parklet space. They are public, not private. How are they elitist? How are they gentrifying? Parklets are so inoffensive that this kind of kvetching just blows my mind. Unless you are very caught up in the idea that you deserve to park your car in one of the three spaces that a parklet took over (temporarily, for the summer), then parklets are not your enemy.
July 28th, 2015 at 10:19 am
I’m glad someone has had the courage to say it. Seriously, these parklets are elitist. The other day, I was walking by one, and it looked me up and down and made some snide remark to the effect of, “I guess T.J. Maxx must be having its annual sale.” I was mortified! And when I said as much, the parklet didn’t even deign to remove its monocle (a parklet with a monocle, outrageous) before replyingin its superior tone, “Pretty eloquent…for a state school grad.” And I’ll have you know that I went to a perfectly reputable private school. The nerve of that parklet!
Ungh, ungawa,
parking spaces have the power.
Ungh, ungawa,
parking spaces have the power.
The revolution has come,
Off the parklets.
The revolution has come,
Off the parklets.
Jesus, you guys are ridiculous.
July 28th, 2015 at 10:34 am
LOL at living in West Philly feels more and more like a Portlandia sketch every day
July 28th, 2015 at 1:04 pm
OK so let’s say a sector of the community truly thinks IKEA should be the model for neighborhood planning, what about the democracy angle? I don’t remember the installation of these contraptions being put to a referendum vote or anything of the sort. Who decided that it was appropriate or even legal to expropriate community space for commercial purposes?
I also find it typical that, while it is acknowledged that the new construction at 43rd & Baltimore will not be able to handle the added parking demands, existing parking is being usurped by these things.
July 28th, 2015 at 3:00 pm
“IKEA should be the model for neighborhood planning”?
IKEA is all about the big box, giant parking lot model of urban (non-)planning. If anyone is an IKEA-head in this thread its watchcat.
July 28th, 2015 at 3:02 pm
How people get to the idea that more public space where anybody can sit down is “elitist” when its obviously the opposite, parking is elitist because it requires ownership of a car, boggles the mind.
July 28th, 2015 at 4:07 pm
@watchat: ????????????? What is commercial about these parklets? There is literally no commercial function whatsoever. And they are, in fact, community space (as has been pointed out, anyone is free to use them), just for people, not cars.
The bottom line is that the only sane opposition there can be to these is people who are pissed that they’re losing parking spaces. I don’t have a car and don’t particularly empathize with it being marginally more difficult to park, but it’s a defensible argument.
I think the vast majority of people in the neighborhood, other than a handful of weirdly critical WPL commenters, are happy to make the trade off.
I’m curious how many cars are in the households of those who are so horrified at having their parking spaces taken. We live in a major American city with a very developed public transportation infrastructure. It is also very bikable. It’s also 2015 and, if you haven’t heard, we’re destroying the planet, in large part, with cars. Making it slightly less convenient to drive is nothing but a good thing.
July 28th, 2015 at 4:21 pm
As a long time west philly resident, I want parklet in front of salt & pepper III on 47th!
July 29th, 2015 at 9:44 am
@Fred Walton, I don’t know. I hear the newer stop and go near 51st and Whitby is before them in line.
July 29th, 2015 at 10:44 am
Kidding aside, I think that you touch factors that keep not very nice neighborhoods not very nice. You can’t sit down for a meal. The merchants don’t like it. To the extent that you may have a grocery store, everything is under lock and key and forget about bringing a cart into the lot. If you need to catch a bus, forget about sitting down on a bench – it’s a nuisance and draws the wrong kind of people. Don’t expect to find a free newspaper/magazine box, or even a trash can for that matter. All of this reinforcing the idea in visitors that it is a neighborhood to avoid and residents that the place is unworthy of any type of community pride. So, really yes. Put the damn parklets there and start a new trend.
July 29th, 2015 at 12:08 pm
To expropriate community space for commercial purposes without a community RCO representation is illegal.
July 29th, 2015 at 12:25 pm
sickofcorruption, you seem to be deliberately ignoring what has been pointed out a number of times: these are not commercial spaces. They are public chairs and tables (and planters) on an extension of the public space. This is public space that has been INCREASED, not taken away.
July 29th, 2015 at 12:52 pm
@sickofcorruption: You consider parking spaces “community space” more than a place where anyone can sit and enjoy being outside. This conversation is truly unhinged.
July 29th, 2015 at 3:31 pm
The question of the parklets, in and of themselves, being elitist is silly. The question of why they’re located where they are, and not elsewhere, which may be what some of the commenters were trying to get at, has several answers.
Why Are They in University City, and Not Outside of it?
I believe the parklets are sponsored by UCD, whose mission is to serve the University City section of West Philly. It shouldn’t be surprising then, that UCD located these parks in the University City section of West Philly (interest groups advocating for their declared interests shouldn’t be a controversial idea). I’m sure UCD would be delighted if other groups across West Philly and the city stole their idea (which didn’t originate with them in any case). If you want parklets outside of University City, go for it (there are RCOs and merchant associations in most parts of the city, and the parklets themselves are relatively affordable to create and maintain—in other words, you don’t need the resources of the UCD to create parklets, you just need some initiative/community/political support). Or you could just call other people elitist while you do nothing. I mean, I’m not doing anything either, but I’m not the one calling people who are elitist.
Why Are They Where They Are in University City, and Not Someplace Else (in University City)?
In terms of where in University City the parklets are located, I assume UCD’s criteria looked something like this:
–someplace with lots of foot traffic.
–someplace where drivers are unlikely to pose a threat to people in the parklets (meaning someplace where drivers are less likely to speed/drive carelessly into a parklet).
–someplace in immediate proximity to take-out food/coffee, where people might sit with a meal/non-alcoholic drink.
–someplace where the local merchants are uniformly in favor of a parklet, and possibly take responsibility for things like watering the plants.
–someplace that isn’t associated with a history of violence/disturbing the peace (unlikely to be located in front of the Watusi II, in other words)
–someplace that doesn’t already have outdoor seating/someplace where outdoor seating would have an immediate impact.
–someplace that is shared by multiple businesses, rather than located in front of a single isolated business, which could create the impression that the space was private, rather than shared and public.
In terms of the other question of why ‘bad’ neighborhoods look/are ‘bad’, thankfully that’s too large a topic for my response. Participants in those conversations tend to replay their part in the fugue of history/structure/culture arguments, and that’s a fugue I’m happy to avoid these days.
July 29th, 2015 at 4:13 pm
I never used the term elitist, I imagine most real alitists eat downtown somewhere and would only associate with people on a parklet once in a blue moon. And I have no car to park.
I think more pertinent terms would be trashy, unaesthetic and detrimental to the character of the neighborhood in the service of consumerism. I’m for supporting small businesses, but not to the point of giving them public space with which to increase their seating capacities. I’ve been here since the 70’s, have always considered it a great place to live, and have never been seriously confronted with the problem of “where do I eat my food?”
There are certainly bigger problems that we collectively face, btw. And I won’t swear that I will never, ever sit and talk with somebody on a “parklet.” To me this is simply another step in the direction of corporate uniformity; the context is more disturbing than the “parklets” (or should we call them “McParks”?) themselves.
July 29th, 2015 at 6:07 pm
Wow, I go away for a bit and the threads heat up.
Portlandia indeed! Is finding something in the neighborhood to complain about becoming a sport?
This is great. Rock on, people. More walkable/sittable/less car-oriented neighborhoods is great.
Sincerely,
Business owner, job-creator and taxpayer.
July 29th, 2015 at 7:47 pm
Job creator, huh? Think i heard that term before somewhere…
More walkable, less car-oriented neighborhoods would indeed be great. And I would like to see a cap on the # of gas stations and other emissions-generating businesses allowed within a certain area. (There are 4-5 in the 4500 blocks of Baltimore/Springfield Ave. alone.) But let’s not change the subject. Anyway no one said this is the defining issue of the moment.
July 29th, 2015 at 8:01 pm
@watchat: No one thinks this is a defining issue, but you haven’t explained how converting parking spaces (temporarily) into places where all community members are free to sit is robbing the neighborhood of community spaces, when it is, quite obviously, doing the opposite
July 29th, 2015 at 10:15 pm
Just because we’re all “free” to sit there doesn’t mean that many of us desire to do so, or that it fulfills our collective needs any more substantially than parking spaces or any other use, it’s just a matter of what one’s needs are at the time.
Do other cities do this?
July 29th, 2015 at 10:25 pm
Watchcat, seriously, did you major in debate club, or are you really having a problem for this?
The parklets will be taken down after a while.
No, we don’t vote on every little thing in this community. That’s the way our system works.
Personally, I love the parklets. Why? Because one is close to Cedar Park, and close to where I am, and I’m not comfortable with the people who hang out there all the time. Constant yelling and fighting. No idea when someone is going to pull a weapon. No thanks.
So yes. I support these parklets.
I also support the “watchcat” principle. No matter what you try to do, someone complains about it.
If you wish to register that you don’t support the parklets, that’s fine. Duly noted. You and Rich Wexler could have a good contest for “repetitive point-making” award 🙂
And yes, I provide great jobs for the community. Not as many as I wish, but considering I could outsource my work to India, I am proud to make jobs.
July 29th, 2015 at 11:22 pm
This has been some fine trolling @watchcat
July 30th, 2015 at 10:00 am
NIMBYISM to the extreme…
July 30th, 2015 at 3:38 pm
Very touchy people here. As reason fails I notice the tendency toward ad hominems developing. Such as anon asking a question and then accusing me of “trolling” when i respond…and NIMBY is a term usually applied to prisons and halfway houses, so I don’t see how that’s pertinent.
I agree that, sans a fresh infusion of sentiment, the subject has been pretty well covered by now in terms of who supports what. It’s the side comments that often seem to beg for a response, such as
“No, we don’t vote on every little thing in this community. That’s the way our system works.” (gordon)
Discuss amongst yourselves.
July 30th, 2015 at 4:09 pm
But watchcat, it’s just the truth.
We don’t vote on whether the trash is picked up on Tuesday or Friday.
We don’t vote on whether the UCD security guys on bikes get to wear yellow or green jackets.
We don’t vote on whether a nonprofit group gets a permit to use the park or to hold a parade.
We don’t have a direct democracy with a million little votes. Just a fact.
July 30th, 2015 at 5:21 pm
@watchcat: I wasn’t being touchy, I honestly thought you were trolling us (and was complimentary of its quality). If you’re not, I’ll try to respond to your point.
You’re issue with the parklets now is that not everyone wants to use them. True, but it’s also true of parks, libraries, and many other things we choose to keep around because it’s nice to have them around for the people who choose to take advantage of them.
You’re other point seems to be that parklets do not necessarily put the space to a better use (fulfillment of collective needs) then parking spaces or anything else. This is nihilism and, if true, we should throw our hands up in the air and never again try to do anything to put communal space to use (since we would never know whether we were using the space to maximize the fulfillment of collective needs).
There are currently two options for these spaces: parking spaces (of which there are thousands if not tens of thousands in the community) or a communal space that is open to anyone who would like to sit down with friends and talk and enjoy themselves outside on nice days. I think it’s obvious what the better of these options are, but I guess we’re not going to agree on that.
And yes, they do do this in other cities, and people really like it! New York has also closed important stretches of the City to vehihcles. The trend in urban areas is definitely towards making them more pedestrian friendly and less dominated by cars. This is a small but important part of that trend here in Philly.
http://sf.curbed.com/archives/2015/02/27/mapping_all_51_awesome_san_francisco_public_parklets.php
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/business/when-the-parking-space-becomes-a-park.html?_r=0
http://spacestoplaces.blogs.realtor.org/2015/01/09/bringing-parklets-to-chicago/
July 30th, 2015 at 6:04 pm
Wait a minute, are you guys serious? All these tables and chairs in the street are public areas? I doubt if I am the only one who thought these belonged to the adjacent eateries. I never would have presumed to eat my brown bag lunch at one of these tables any more than I would have brought my own lunch to eat inside the establishment. I’ll tell you one thing, now that I know these are shared public spaces it’s almost a relief that private parties have not been awarded public street space to expand their business. Uh, right?
July 30th, 2015 at 6:50 pm
@PassingThru: that’s right, they’re open to everyone, you don’t need to be a customer if any business. I think the one at 43rd and Baltimore makes that clear, but I’m not sure about others
July 31st, 2015 at 2:07 pm
BTW, I don’t think they had any idea how true the title of this piece would be when WPL posted this piece.