The repaving of a portion Walnut Street in West Philadelphia is set to begin on September 12th. The milling work is expected to take place during the overnight hours from Tuesday, Sept. 12 to Friday, Sept. 15. During this work, the street will be reduced to one lane between 33rd Street and 63rd Street and motorists should expect delays.

The repaving schedule is as follows, according to PennDOT:

• Through Friday, Sept. 15, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., there will be a lane closed on Walnut Street between 63rd Street (Cobbs Creek Parkway) and 33rd Street to prepare for milling.
• Milling work will take place during overnight hours.
• Paving is set to begin on or around Tuesday, Sept. 26.
• Travel lanes will be open during the majority of construction. There will be periodic nighttime closures. Follow signs, detours, and parking notices.

The project is part of the City’s Complete Streets project.

The Walnut Street repaving project includes the following street improvement goals:

Continue Reading

The 2023-2024 school year begins Tuesday, Sept. 5. In anticipation of extreme heat conditions next week, with temperatures reaching mid-90’s, the School District of Philadelphia has issued an Extreme Heat Protocol for the public schools without air conditioning or inadequate cooling (see the list below).

These schools will follow the schedule below for Tuesday, Sept. 5 through Thursday, Sept. 7.

• Tuesday, Sept. 5 – Wednesday, Sept. 6: Students will attend schools in the morning and then be released on an early dismissal schedule.

• Thursday, Sept. 7: The District will continue to monitor heat conditions. Any decisions about Thursday or Friday will be announces by 12 p.m. on the day before.

Continue Reading

The Calvary Center for Culture and Community (CCCC) and Calvary United Methodist Church, the two organizations located in the historic church building at 48th and Baltimore, have announced plans to install a much-needed HVAC system, which will provide heating and air-conditioning in the building. The building utilized an old boiler system for years and now has no heat, according to Gay Carducci-Kuhn, CCCC Board member and Curio Theatre Company managing director.

To help raise funds for the new system, the HVAC @ Calvary Matching Gift Campaign has been created. The goal of this fundraising campaign is to match the $100,000 grant from the National Fund for Sacred Places. Over $65,000 has been already raised, so the goal is not that far away.

Continue Reading

The University of Pennsylvania has announced that portions of Spruce Street will be closed next week to all vehicular traffic to accommodate their students moving into campus for the 2023-2024 school year. Street closures will take place every day from Monday, Aug. 21 through Friday, Aug. 25, except Thursday, Aug. 20.

Here’s the schedule and locations of street closures:

Spruce Street will be closed between 34th and 38th Streets from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Spruce Street will be closed between 38th and 40th Streets from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 25.

Motorists should expect delays in these areas during this timeframe.

SEPTA buses that travel on Spruce Street will be on detour. Please check the SEPTA website for detour information.

Made West, a West Philly hub of Made Institute, an independent fashion design and sewing school, is officially opening this week in Garden Court (4719 Pine St.). To celebrate the opening, Made West will hold a launch party on Friday, Aug. 18 (see the flyer below for more details).

Made West is “opening up a whole new world of sewing, fashion and crafts for the West Philadelphia community,” according to the announcement. Friday’s event is a great opportunity to learn about the upcoming classes, workshops, an afterschool program, teen fashion club and adult sewing classes.

Guests of all ages are also invited to tour the space, and check out the equipment and supplies. To register for the event, click here. Continue Reading

In an effort to improve energy efficiency as well as public safety, the City has kicked off construction for the Philly Streetlight Improvement Project, a citywide initiative to replace and connect approximately 130,000 streetlights into a network of more efficient and longer-lasting diode (LED) lights. The project is co-led by the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA).

The 24-month construction project will reduce streetlighting energy use by more than 50 percent and is the single largest energy conservation project the City has undertaken, reducing municipal carbon emissions by more than nine percent.

The upgraded LED lights will be fully controllable through remote monitoring, providing the City instantaneous updates on outages and the ability to dim and brighten fixtures. The improved reliability and performance will support public safety by improving the ability for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists to see at night.

Continue Reading