Updated intersection at Baltimore and Springfield.

The corner of Baltimore and Springfield avenues has long been a notorious corner, with pedestrians heading to and from Clark Park, cyclists, motorists and trolleys all converging at one oddly configured intersection. Hopefully some work recently completed by the City of Philadelphia’s Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities and the Streets Department that includes a buffered bike lane and some redirection of vehicle traffic will make the intersection safer.

Several accidents have occurred at the intersection in recent years and residents have long asked for steps to be taken. The changes include flexible plastic poles that provide a wide protected area for pedestrians, allowing them to cross the intersection much more quickly.

Intersection at Baltimore and Springfield (archived photo).

The Indego bike station at 44th and Walnut.

The planned bike share station at 44th and Walnut is now in place, marking (for now, at least) the furthest west the new Ride Indego program will go (map). The last time we checked the station only had a couple of bikes, which has been an early complaint about the stations in West Philly, including the one near 40th and Spruce.

The bike share program plans to add another station near Clark Park. They are still working with the community to determine the best placement for it. We’ll let you know when we have an installation date.

After many years of wishful thinking, high hopes and false starts, bike-share bicycles will be unleashed on the streets of Philadelphia tomorrow.

The bike share service Indego officially kicks off with a “ride off” beginning at Eakins Oval tomorrow morning to launch the service. Tickets for those inaugural rides are sold out. But you can get a bike and do your own ride off tomorrow if you like.

An important note for folks around here, though – the stations planned for Clark Park, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 44th and Walnut near the Supremo Shop ‘n Bag and Mantua Haverford Community Center (39th and Mt. Vernon) are still listed as “coming soon” or “unavailable” rather than “active” on the map of stations around the city.

That leaves eight stations in West Philly open for business tomorrow. See the map here.

As was reported recently, Philadelphia’s first bike share program, Indego, is expected to launch on April 23, and some bike docking stations already started popping up in our area. Eleven stations are planned for West Philadelphia for the initial phase of the program, though unfortunately only as far west as 44th Street near the Supremo Shop ‘n Bag.

This bike share station is being installed in front of Penn’s School of Dental Medicine on S. 40th Street near Spruce.

Finally, we have the launch date for Philadelphia’s inaugural bike share program, Indego. Mayor Michael Nutter announced today that the program will kick off on April 23, 2015. The festive kick-off event will take place on that day, starting at noon, at Eakins Oval in Center City. Indego members will also hop on their bikes at the event and demonstrate how to ride them. Another preview event will be held on Thursday, April 2 from noon to 2 p.m. at Paine Plaza across from City Hall. During the event, a docking station and bikes will be on display, and visitors can try the system, find out about membership options, and purchase memberships.

Starting today, memberships are available from www.rideindego.com, and users are encouraged to sign up before the April 23rd launch. A few membership plans are available. Indego30 ($15 per month) is a 30-day membership plan that provides members unlimited one-hour rides (you can pay with a credit or debit card, or cash). With a pay-as-you-ride option, you pay only for the rides you take (each Indego station has a kiosk for payment).

The bike share stations will operate 24 hours a day all year round at 70 locations across the city. Here’s the map of the docking stations in West Philly (click here to access the full map):

For more information, visit the Indego website.

As snow continues falling in Philadelphia, the School District of Philadelphia has announced that all public schools and prekindergarten programs will be closed today due to inclement weather. All Archdiocesan schools are also closed. Please go here for more information on other school closings.

SEPTA announced the following service changes in the area due to cold weather and icy road conditions.

Regional Rail: All SEPTA Regional Rail lines may experience delays of up to 20 minutes due to weather conditions.

Customized Community Transportation (CCT): Service is operating with delays of up to 60 minutes due to weather conditions. Customers should call the CCT Control Center at 215-580-7720 to cancel trips if they don’t plan to ride or to inquire about pending “Same Day” trips.

Market-Frankford Line: All trains are making all station stops due to extremely cold weather. There is no A/B express service for passenger convenience.