Posted on 19 November 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com
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
Posted on 18 November 2015 by Mike Lyons
Renovations are continuing and the first three tenants are already lined up for the Frank Furness-designed church at 47th and Kingsessing that was saved from the wrecking ball last year.
Property owner Guy Laren confirmed by e-mail this week that two preschools, Little Learners and Children’s Community School, are still among the likely tenants for the commercial space at the former St. Peter’s Church of Christ complex, which includes a three-story parish house (formerly a school) and a main sanctuary. The church was saved from demolition in late 2014.
“There are so many moving parts to an old building like this that giving you absolute move-in dates would be difficult, but both pre-schools would move in at the earliest sometime early next year,” said Laren, whose West Philly property management company, Constellar Corporation, purchased the property in December 2014.
The Soapbox Community Print Shop recently announced it would be moving into a 4,500-square-foot space in the complex and has started a fundraising campaign to help offset the costs of renovations.
Guy said that he’s also working with an artist group to have some collaborative space in the complex as well.
“After all these are comfortably moved in we will consider other possibilities for the remaining space,” Laren said. Laren’s initial plans for the remaining space in the sanctuary included residential apartments or some other commercial use. We’ll keep you posted when we have more updates.
Posted on 18 November 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com
Murder and DUI charges were filed on Tuesday against the driver who struck and killed a woman as she crossed the street at 54th and Woodland on Monday morning. Police say 23-year-old Malachi Armstrong was driving eastbound on Woodland Avenue at about 9:15 a.m. when he allegedly sped through a red light and attempted to pass a stopped Route 11 Trolley.
While he was passing the trolley on the left he struck and killed the woman, identified as 38-year-old mother of three Miriam Wilson, who was crossing the street (it was reported initially that she was attempting to catch the trolley). She was pronounced dead on the scene.
After striking the woman Armstrong lost control of his car, a 2015 Nissan Altima, crossed over into oncoming traffic, collided head-on with another vehicle and then hit a pole, according to reports. The driver of the vehicle that Armstrong struck head-on was hospitalized with injuries to his legs.
Armstrong was charged with vehicular homicide and DUI, according to court documents. At his arraignment, bail was denied.
Posted on 17 November 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com
A new mural was unveiled on Monday at 40th and Chestnut, a result of a year-long collaboration between the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program and the Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services (DBHIDS). The mural art project, titled Building Brotherhood: Engaging Males of Color, was designed to inspire males of color to build supportive relationships with one another as a mechanism for coping with – and overcoming – the hardships they face in society, often in regards to accessing education, jobs, and behavioral health services.
Building Brotherhood is the 27th mural created under the Porch Light program, an ongoing collaboration between the Mural Arts Program and DBHIDS. Porch Light public art projects, which focus specifically on mental health, are an expression of community resilience and a vehicle of personal and community healing. A new virtual tour of the Porch Light murals can be found here: www.porchlightvirtualtour.org.
Posted on 17 November 2015 by WestPhillyLocal.com
A young, very friendly female pit bull mix was found this morning on the corner of 49th and Hazel. She didn’t have a collar or tags. The person who found the dog is taking her scanned for a microchip this afternoon. If you have any information about the dog’s owner please leave a comment below.
Posted on 15 November 2015 by Mike Lyons
UPDATE: The zebras are in custody. According to reports, one was captured in Lower Merion.
Police are in pursuit of a couple of zebras that escaped from a circus near 52nd Street and Parkside Avenue Sunday afternoon. The zebras slipped out of the circus at about 2 p.m., according to police. Motorists and pedestrians have photographed and videoed the zebras running through the parking lot near the Shoprite center near 52nd and Jefferson. The zebras escaped from the Universoul Circus, which is set up near the Mann Music Center. Last week the circus made headlines when a trapeze artist bounced out of a safety net and into the crowd. He was hospitalized.
Here are some sightings:
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