Park(ing) Day is coming to Philadelphia on Friday, Sept. 16 and local activists, designers and citizens will transform street or metered parking spots into temporary public parks (aka “parklets”). So far here’s what’s happening in West Philly, and everyone is welcome to stop by and enjoy the following parks:

• Repair the World Philadelphia will create a parklet on the 200 block of S. 40th St.
• People’s Emergency Center (PEC) will create parks at 3750 and 4116 Lancaster Ave. There will be a seating area open to the public and activities throughout the day.

Many more parklets will be created throughout the city this Friday, so check out this interactive map.

The event will be held from approximately 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Park(ing) Day is a worldwide event held on the third Friday in September.

And just a reminder that there are several more permanent parklets in University City that pop us every spring, so we hope you’re enjoying them while the weather is still warm. If you need a reminder where they are, check out this post.

UPDATE (11/19/2015): Many people in the neighborhood posted their suggestions on how to improve the tricky intersection of 46th Street and Baltimore and Cedar Avenues after our post last month (see the original post and reader comments below). Reader David Wengert emailed us his proposal on how to make the intersection safer, along with illustrations:

“I have long wanted to change the physical landscape and traffic pattern at 46th & Baltimore & Cedar, so when I saw the topic appear on West Philly Local in October, I decided to create a picture to visualize my idea for change. It involves three major changes that I believe would improve both walkability and drivability. First, you eliminate the Cedar Ave spur between Baltimore & 46th. This triangle could be transformed into a little park or parklet, and the Baltimore Ave sidewalk would continue along Baltimore Ave all the way to the corner.

Second, you bring 46th St southbound traffic all the way up to the intersection with Baltimore, instead of stopping traffic behind Cedar Ave. This means removing Cedar Ave from the intersection entirely.  Continue Reading

Here’s a short roundup of some latest news from local restaurants, bars and cafés.

• University City Dining Days kicks off this Thursday (July 16), with over 30 restaurants participating in the event. During the 11-day promotion, you can choose a pre-fixe three-course dinner menu best suiting for your wallet: for $15 – at Dahlak, Desi Village, Dock Street Brewery, The Gold Standard Cafe, New Delhi, Vietnam Café, and more restaurants; for $25 – at 48th Street Grille, Doc Magrogan’s Oyster House, The Farmacy Rx, Han Dynasty, Harvest Seasonal, and more restaurants; or for $35 – at City Tap House, Distrito, Penne Restaurant & Wine Bar, Pod, and White Dog Cafe. Reservations should be made directly at participating businesses.

In addition, you can win some great prizes offered by the event organizer, University City District (UCD), including an iPod Touch, an Apple TV, and a $200 bundle of restaurant gift certificates. For more information go to: www.universitycity.org/university-city-dining-days.

• UCD has installed a new and the largest parklet in the area – on 40th Street between Walnut and Sansom, in front of the retail space that hosts several eateries, including Hai Street Kitchen, Jake’s Sandwich Board, and Zesto Pizza. The new parklet, designed by Shift_Design, measures about 60 feet long and is among the longest parklets ever constructed. Now you can enjoy your sushi burrito outside.

• We’ve been keeping an eye on the progress of Cafe Renata‘s opening at the new location near 46th and Baltimore. As we reported earlier, Renata co-owners Katie Steenstra and Yasser Aiq, were planning to open the new location this summer, after their old space near 43rd and Locust was heavily damaged in a fire in March. They even participated in the recent Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll (pictured right). It turns out, the opening will not happen until later this summer because Katie and Yasser are busy preparing for a big personal event – they’re getting married early next month! Once they’re “refreshed with marital bliss” they’ll be “back on the street” figuring out the opening date. We’ll keep you posted. By the way, the name of the new place is Renata’s Kitchen.

• The Gold Standard Café is hiring Front of House staff, including a busser/runner (for weekend brunch), a server (3-5 days a week), and a barista. Please drop off your resume in person at 4800 Baltimore Ave. or stop in and ask for an application on Monday-Friday from 10-10:30 a.m. or 2:30-5 p.m.. For more information, check out this Facebook post.

Photos by Dylan Moore.

UPDATE (6/12/2013): The Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll has been postponed until July, 2013 due to heavy rain and thunderstorms forecast for this Thursday, according to an announcement on the University City District’s Facebook page posted this evening. We’ll post more information about the new date as soon as we have it.

The Baltimore Avenue Dollar Stroll, the highly-anticipated annual event celebrating local businesses where most things are just a buck, is returning this Thursday, June 13. The stroll begins at 5:30 p.m. (it is always a good idea to get there early to avoid the crowds) and a record-setting 35 businesses will offer $1 deals along Baltimore Avenue, between 43rd and 50th Streets.

Besides the long-time participants, like Milk & Honey, Dock Street Brewery and Firehouse Bicycles, there will be some newcomers who recently opened shops in the area, including Little Baby’s Ice Cream and The Green Tambourine. This Dollar Stroll also showcases new parklets at Fu-Wah and Little Baby’s Ice Cream and the new pedestrian plaza at 48th and Baltimore.

In addition to storefront businesses, food trucks and vendors such as Jimmies Cupcake Co., Sunflower Truck Stop and Lil Dan’s will also be selling $1 items along the avenue. Also, don’t miss live music and entertainment: XPN favorite, The Fleeting Ends will perform live at 46^th and Baltimore, along with fire artists and street performers such as the Give & Take Jugglers. There will be also giveaways, face painting and balloon artists.

If you can’t make it this week there will be only one more stroll this year, on September 12.

Check out the flyer below for more details on what businesses are taking part in Thursday’s Stroll and what they are offering. For more information about this event, visit: http://universitycity.org/baltimore-ave-dollar-stroll

Click to enlarge.