This is a reminder that SEPTA will stop selling paper transfers beginning August 1st.

Paper transfers for travel on buses, subways and trolleys will stop being issued at the end of the service day on Tuesday, July 31. Starting August 1, to receive a qualifying $1 transfer, customers will need to use a SEPTA Key Card with Travel Wallet. Customers who are eligible for reduced fare travel will need to use a SEPTA Key Card with Travel Wallet to receive the half-fare $0.50 transfer.

This is the latest effort by SEPTA to encourage more customers to switch to the Key Card, which was launched in June 2016. The majority of SEPTA customers have already made the switch.

After eliminating token and magnetic stripe TransPass sales at SEPTA-operated locations in the spring, SEPTA will also end third-party retail sales of tokens and magnetic stripe passes by Aug. 1.

For more information about the SEPTA Key Fare program, visit: www.septakey.org.

Police have released surveillance video (see below) and are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying the vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run in West Philadelphia over the weekend. The victim, a 61-year-old man, was struck near Lancaster Avenue and Aspen Street on Sunday, July 22, at 3:14 a.m. The vehicle that struck him was traveling at a high speed west on Lancaster Avenue from Fairmount Street and fled the scene after the accident.

The victim was found lying in the bicycle lane by officers patrolling the area and was transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center where he later died.  Continue Reading

The I-76 West ramp to 30th Street is closing for four weeks beginning this Saturday for repairs and resurfacing, according to PennDOT. The ramp will close at 12:01 a.m. on July 21 and is expected to reopen in mid-August.

During the ramp closure, motorists are advised to use an alternate exit at South Street and should expect delays.

The closure is part of the $103.6 million project to rehabilitate the Chestnut Street Bridge over the Schuylkill River and several nearby structures. The project is expected to be completed in Fall 2020.  Continue Reading

Trolley track repair work is underway near 40th and Woodland.

SEPTA’s annual Center City Trolley Tunnel maintenance project, aka Trolley Tunnel Blitz, began on Friday night. All trolleys going east will be on diversion to 40th and Market, where passengers can switch to the train, for the duration of the project (until July 23).

A portion of Woodland Avenue, between 39th and Chester, is also closed to all traffic due to this project, which includes track repair work near the trolley portal. Chester Avenue between 41st and Woodland is also closed.

A monthly Spruce Hill zoning meeting will take place tonight, at 7 p.m. at the Spruce Hill Center (257 S. 45th St), with two development projects on the agenda. Community members are invited to hear from the owners of a vacant lot at 224 S. 44th Street about construction of a new residential building. This project was first presented at last month’s zoning meeting. A four-unit semi-detached structure is being proposed on the lot in-between two old Victorian homes (see picture).  Continue Reading

A new “parklet” was installed this week on Pine Street between 47th and 48th.

Two new “parklets”- temporary outdoor seating platforms where you can enjoy a meal, a drink or simply relax – have been installed by University City District crews. In addition to the returning locations at 4040 Locust St. (hosted by Ramen Bar), 261 S. 44th St. (hosted by Honest Tom’s Tacos and Lil’ Pop Shop), 4239 Baltimore Ave. (hosted by Green Line Cafe) and 4903 Catharine St (hosted by Little Baby’s Ice Cream), check out the following new “parklets”:

• 3601 Market (between Market and Filbert, hosted by Schmear It, Jimmy John’s, and M.A.T.T.’s Sliders)
• 4725 Pine Street (hosted by the Garden Court Community Association)

“Parklets” usually stay through mid- to late November, as long as the weather is warm enough for outdoor seating. Just a reminder that you don’t need to patronize a particular business to sit in the parklet.