Photo by West Philly Local reader Jazmin Idakaar.

It’s scorching in Philadelphia and many residents are looking for ways to cool off. Unfortunately, some ways of cooling off can be costly. An illegally opened fire hydrant caused a water outage on Tuesday, July 16 near 52nd and Locust Streets. The break disrupted water service for some fifty properties in the area for 11 hours (11:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.). and then took hours of clean-up. West Philly Local readers reported lots of water coming out of spots along the street at 52nd & Locust after the break.

“When you open a hydrant illegally, you run the risk of bodily harm, possibly death, property damage and situations like this, where you have a water main break and people on the block with no water,” John DiGiulio of the Philadelphia Water Department told ABC.

Until next Monday, July 15, local nonprofit organizations with a strong community-centric focus are encouraged to apply for a $10,000 grant provided by West Philly-based Vineyard Community Church (VCC). Last year VCC developed “Building It Together,” a capital campaign to renovate a building at 123 S. 51st Street into a worship space and community center. Ten percent of the proceeds was set aside to fund a new capital grant program. The purpose of the grant program is to “support new capital-intensive, community-centric philanthropic endeavors in Philadelphia and around the world.”

To be eligible for the grant, your organization doesn’t have to be faith-based and doesn’t have to be located in West Philadelphia, but organizations that meet either of these criteria will receive preference for funding. Funding is to be used for capital projects only, and is not eligible for operating and maintenance activities. Eligible activities include labor for construction, purchase of equipment, materials, and supplies.

For more information on eligibility, evaluation criteria and how to apply, please visit: http://www.vineyardwestphilly.org/serve/bit-capital-grant/. Deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on July 15, 2013. All applications should be emailed to: erik.johanson@gmail.com.

Beginning Monday, July 1, SEPTA’s fares are going up. The new price plan includes the first increase to the cash fare since 2001, from $2 to $2.25. The discounted single trip fare (token) will be $1.80. Transfers will remain $1.

As you may already know, SEPTA is working on the New Payment Technology (NPT) program, which will come into effect next year. NPT will eliminate tokens and introduce a SEPTA-branded card that will be available for purchase at all transit stations. In anticipation of the program SEPTA is also simplifying fares by eliminating extrafare zone charges on dozens of transit routes and consolidating zones on Regional Rail. In addition, gender stickers will be eliminated on all passes for transit and Regional Rail. The gender sticker system was highly criticized for its discrimination against transgender passengers.

The cash fare will go up to $2.50 in 2014 when the switch to NPT is complete. The next scheduled fare increase will be in July 2016.

For more information about the fare changes, including a breakdown of all fares and related modifications that will go into effect July 1, visit this special section on SEPTA’s website.

SEPTA is conducting trolley track work this summer on the Routes 10, 11, and 36 and residents should expect shuttle buses on these lines and limited traffic on the affected blocks.

A switch and track crossing renewal project for the intersection of 49th Street and Woodland Avenue will take place June 9-22 and service on SEPTA’s Route 11 and 36 trolleys will be affected during this two-week period. Normal construction hours will be Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-8 p.m. and possibly on weekends if it is necessary for maintaining the project schedule. During the project, 49th Street and Woodland Avenue will be closed to traffic in all directions for a full block from the worksite. Here are more details on the changes in the operation of the 36 and 11 trolleys for the duration of the project (source: septa.org).

Route 36 Service:
• Buses will replace all trolleys from the Eastwick Loop to the 40th Street Portal.
Passengers traveling to Center City can board any trolley at the Portal for service to 13th
Street.

Route 11 Service:
• Eastbound, Route 11 trolleys will operate from the Darby Loop to 50th Street and
Woodland Avenue, then travel over 49th Street to Chester Avenue and on to the 40th
Street Portal for Center City destinations. Passengers needing to make stops on
Woodland between 50th Street and the 40th Street Portal can transfer to shuttle buses at
50th and Woodland.
• Westbound, trolleys will operate from 13th to 40th Streets via the Center City tunnel, then
travel on Woodland Avenue to Chester Avenue to 58th Street and back to Woodland for
service to the Darby Loop. Shuttle buses will be available at the 40th Street Portal for
customers that need to make stops on Woodland between the Portal and 57th Street.

SEPTA is also conducting a track renewal project on a portion of the Route 10 trolley line. During this project, which is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2013, tracks will be replaced on Lancaster Avenue from 40th to 44th Streets, the intersection at 48th Street and on 41st Street between Wallace Street and Lancaster Avenue.

The project will be completed in three phases. Shuttle bus service for the Route 10 trolley will be in effect between 63rd Street and Malvern Avenue to 33rd and Market Streets for the project’s second and third phases, June 23-August 31, 2013. Buses will also substitute trolley service on the Route 15 from August 18-24. For more information, visit SEPTA’s website or call SEPTA Customer Service at 215-580-7800.

SEPTA has announced new schedules for a number of trolley and bus routes effective June 9. Schedule changes will affect all the trolleys serving West Philadelphia (Route 10, 11, 13, 15, 34, 36) and buses such as Route 21, 42, 43, 44, 52, 64, 65, and Route G. You can download new schedules on the SEPTA website (follow this link).
 

A serious fire was reported this afternoon at a junkyard in Southwest Philadelphia. West Philly Local readers reported seeing lots of dark smoke in that area and some smoke was visible in the sky from as far as 42nd and Walnut Streets. The fire broke out around 4 p.m. at Automated Waste Solutions Inc. at 1620 South 49th Street (near 49th St and Grays Ave), 6ABC reports. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is unknown at this time.