Good news for local late-night public transportation users. SEPTA is extending again its pilot “Night Owl” weekend subway service on the Market-Frankford and Broad Street lines, this time indefinitely. The service was introduced in June, prompted by the changing city, and initially it was planned to try it until Labor Day and evaluate it. Then it was extended until November and now SEPTA says that the service is so popular that it’s staying for an indefinite time.

Here’s some stats from SEPTA regarding the popularity of this service:

– An average of 15,000 riders each weekend have boarded trains between midnight and 5:00 a.m. since June 15. That’s 6,000 riders more than those who previously used overnight bus service.

– Weekend overnight train service has been most popular during holiday weekends (24,430 riders on July 4; 17,192 passengers over Labor Day weekend).

According to SEPTA, passenger safety was also evaluated during the pilot. Issues have been minimal, due to an increased police presence on overnight trains.

Neighbors are invited to the Walnut Hill Community Day celebration on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. The celebration will take place on the 4700 block of Walnut Street in front of the old West Philly High School building. This is a great opportunity to meet other neighbors, get some valuable information about the neighborhood and its organizations, and to have fun!

The event will include a lot of family friendly activities: pony rides, face painting, moon bounce, and more. Also, there will be food and drinks, raffles, a farm stand and live entertainment.

The event is organized by the Walnut Hill Community Association (WHCA). The organization was found in 1961 by a group of neighbors, led by Charles Campbell, Sr., who “were concerned about the deterioration of their neighborhood.” WHCA, which is a volunteer organization, encourages neighbors to participate in community events and in other activities that help improve and strengthen the community. New volunteers are always welcome, too. Visit this page for more information on how you can help.

Journey2home public art project, dedicated to homeless youth, opens this Friday at 42nd and Lancaster. (Photo courtesy of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program).

The Philadelphia Mural Arts program has dedicated their new public art project, journey2home, to homeless youth in the city. According to last year’s data by People’s Emergency Center, more than 5,000 kids in Philadelphia are homeless. The project includes two murals created by artists Ernel Martinez and Shira Walinsky at 42nd and Lancaster in the Mantua neighborhood. The opening celebration will take place on Friday, Oct. 10, 4 – 7 p.m.

Journey2home is a year-long, socially engaged project initiated by the Mural Arts program in collaboration with youth enrolled in the Mural Arts Art Education Program. At the apex of a green space at 42nd and Lancaster sits a transformed shipping container, a metaphor for home. It has a front porch, an information bulletin board, a resource area, storage, and a dining room with table, chairs and bookshelves.

The two-wall mural, titled Home Safe, is located across the street from the shipping container and represents the culmination of two years of work with homeless and housing-insecure youth in West Philadelphia.

Community members are invited this Friday to a pop-up outdoor gathering space at 42nd and Lancaster where the project opening celebration will be held. The celebration will include the dedication of the Home Safe murals, as well as other art and sound installations, film, music and food.

For more details on the project, images and videos, visit the journey2home blog.

Here’s a short film about the project:

Here are some more details on Saturday’s incident in Cedar Park when a pedestrian was hit by a car. Police say a 25-year-old woman was hit at about 6:20 p.m. at the intersection of 48th and Cedar and taken to the hospital (no word on her condition yet). A 74-year-old female driver who struck the young woman remained on the scene, according to police.

Two more incidents happened over the weekend, both on Friday morning. A pedestrian was struck by a box truck near 45th and Baltimore and taken to the hospital (no word on this person’s condition) and a bicyclist was hit by a car on the South Street Bridge and had minor injuries, according to witnesses.

Some West Philly Local readers took to social media to discuss intersections where two of the incidents took place.

“The intersections of Cedar and both 47th and 48th are dangerous. Cars fly down Cedar to beat the trolley on Balt[imore] and 48th is treated like a highway. Anyone have any ideas on making this safer?” posted one of them on West Philly Local‘s Facebook page.

“The 45th & Baltimore intersection is also dangerous because vehicles exiting the A-Plus onto Baltimore feel they can either (1) go with the green light along with the cars going north on 45th AND/OR (2) make a short right turn onto Baltimore, light color of no significance. I’ve witnessed at least 4 incidents out my window,” wrote another reader.

We continue publishing breakfast and lunch menus served at schools in the School District of Philadelphia. Here’s the menu for Monday, Oct 6 through Friday, Oct 10. If your school uses a Satellite menu, click here. Come back every Sunday evening for the coming week’s menu.

BREAKFAST (K-12)

A variety of three cereals is offered daily and served with a yogurt parfait or a mini loaf.

Monday

Mini Pancakes
Bake Crafter Cereal Bar & Yogurt
Choose 1: Pineapple Juice or Fresh Pear
Variety of Milk

Tuesday

Steak, Egg & Cheese on a Bagel
Benefit Bar
Choose 1: Mixed Fruit Cup or Fresh Apple
Variety of Milk  Continue Reading

Photo courtesy UC Green.

West Philly is home to a number of great non-profit organizations that do many important things in the area. One of them is UC Green, a group of dedicated members and volunteers who make this area greener by planting and taking care of trees. On Thursday, Oct. 9, UC Green is celebrating its 16th anniversary and hosting its second Harvest Moon Social. This is a fundraising event supporting UC Green’s community tree planting and greening initiatives throughout West Philadelphia neighborhoods.

Community members are invited to join UC Green staff and volunteers at the event and enjoy a buffet and cocktail party. There will also be a raffle with some great local items, including gift baskets and certificates from the Four Worlds Bakery, Milk and Honey and Local 44.

Each year, the organization manages close to 2,000 volunteers who plant and tend hundreds of street trees and enhance public green spaces contributing thousands of hours in service to the neighborhoods. Harvest Moon Social is one of the events that helps UC Green to continue doing their work.

“I rely on the folks at UC Green as the go- to people when it comes to all things having to do with trees. They have given not only material support but moral support in helping us address many challenges we face as community gardeners working in vulnerable areas where efforts are sometimes undermined by many factors of the urban environment. Thanks to their hard work over many years, a greener, calmer and healthier landscape is unfolding in our neighborhood,” says Maureen Tate, a Cedar Park resident and block captain.

Harvest Moon Social will take place from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. at the recently opened Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships (3509 Spring Garden St). Tickets are $85/person, two for $150. Please call: 215-573-4684 or email: suemacqueen@ucgreen.org for more information and to reserve your ticket.