Some readers contacted us regarding Cedar Avenue, some of which was stripped of pavement last month. It looks like repaving will begin soon. Today a neighborhood resident tweeted that he saw a “tow truck… going down Cedar Ave warning people to move vehicles or they’ll be towed.” “Hopefully, they’re re-paving today!,” he added.

We turned to the Streets Department for more information and they referred us to the Streets Department Planning Paving for the 2014 Season page on their website. According to information posted there, the 2014 Planned Paving Program for city streets and roadways started in June and will go on until November. Usually, the paving process takes place in three stages over a 3- to 5-week period due to utilized by the city conventional paving method, which “mills off the top asphalt surface, preps and repairs utility manhole covers and any roadway base areas, then applies a new asphalt top surface.”

Here is the list of streets and roadways included in this year’s City Paving Program. By the way, Cedar Avenue will be re-paved all the way from Baltimore Avenue to 63rd St/Cobbs Creek Parkway (there is no schedule currently available). Re-pavement work is also taking place on S. 52nd Street from Woodland to Whitby Avenues and on other West Philly streets.

Here you can find more information for this week’s (the week of Sept 29) street improvement work and please make sure to move your car from the work sites when temporary “No Parking” signs are posted so that your vehicle is not towed. If it is towed, contact your local Police District to find out your car’s location.

Legal services can be costly, so here are some opportunities for West Philly residents to get free legal help.

Cedar Park Neighbors and the Drexel University School of Law are inviting residents to a free will and estate planning workshop next Wednesday, Oct. 1, at 6:30 p.m. The workshop is for those who are seeking help with the following questions:

• If you own your home, do you know what will happen to it after you die?  
• If you get sick and can’t speak for yourself, do your doctors know what your wishes are?
• Do you need a power of attorney to have someone pay your bills and make financial decisions for you?  Continue Reading

The sidewalk logo in front of the Supremo market on Walnut between 43rd and 44th.

The city is gearing up for bike share – set to begin in the spring –  and is asking the public where stations should be placed.

You may have seen the sidewalk decals in front of, for example, the Supremo supermarket at 43rd and Walnut. The Green Line Café at 43rd and Baltimore is also a possible spot. Unfortunately, there are no proposed stations further west than 43rd Street, according to an online map at phillybikeshare.com. Bicycle Transit Systems will manage the program.

One way to comment on proposed stations, is to go to phillybikeshare.com and click on a station icon and leave comments. You can also text a “yes” or a “no” to 215-987-6034 and enter the station code you see on the sidewalk decals (the one at Supremo is no. 42). Comments are accepted until Oct. 20, 2014.

The stations will be just over 6 feet wide and between 45 and 75 feet long. Most will be about 60 feet long and hold 20 bikes.

Here are the site requirements, according to the web page:

• Stations must be placed on hard surfaces (e.g., concrete, asphalt, brick, pavers). No grass or landscaped areas.
• If on a sidewalk, the sidewalk must be at least 13′ wide to maintain clear space for pedestrians.
• Stations should receive sunlight for around 6 hours a day (to fuel the solar-powered kiosks).
• Stations must be visible and accessible from the sidewalk.

Click on the image to go to the map.

The Spring Garden Street on-ramp to I-76 West will close on Monday, Sept 22 until the beginning of December for repairs and construction work. PennDOT is planning to replace expansion joints, widen the bridge deck, and install concrete barriers during this time. Watch out for detour signs that will take passenger vehicles over Spring Garden Street, 33rd Street, Mantua Street, 34th Street and Girard Avenue to access the Girard Avenue ramp to I-76 West.

The Spring Garden St/I-76 West ramp repair is part of PennDOT’s $6.6 million project to rehabilitate the two deteriorating Spring Garden Street bridges over Interstate 76, Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, Schuylkill River and the Schuylkill River Trail. The project is expected to complete in summer 2015.

Really tragic news this morning. An 8-year-old girl has died after falling from a 9th floor window of a high-rise apartment building near 43rd and Locust.

The incident happened around 7:45 a.m. The girl fell from a window located on the east side of the Fairfax apartment building at 4247 Locust Street, across the street from Penn Alexander School. She was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in critical condition where she later died. Our deepest condolences to the girl’s family.

Here’s a short roundup of some recent news from around West Philadelphia.

Christina Regusters.

• A West Philadelphia woman, Christina Regusters, was found guilty on Friday of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl in January, 2013. The verdict was reached by the jury of seven women and five men after several days of testimony, which included some harrowing details. The victim, now 7, also testified at the trial and is credited by the team of investigators for leading them to her kidnapper. The little girl required a surgery after being sexually assaulted. Regusters, 21, faces up to life in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 15.

• University City Science Center opened a 13-story, 330,000-square-foot, $100 million, office building at 3737 Market Street on Friday. Eight floors of the building are occupied by University of Pennsylvania’s Health System patient care. Other tenants include: Spark Therapeutics (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia gene therapy spinoff), Good Shepherd Penn Partners, and Corner Bakery on the ground floor (opens in winter). Technical.ly has some more details here.

• The building at 40th and Ludlow, which until recently housed a pet store, is for sale, Naked Philly reports. The 3-story, approximately 4,300 sq. foot commercial-type property at 27-29 S. 40th St is currently listed for sale for $879K. The pet store that the building housed, Tradewinds Aquarium and Pet Center, closed in the Spring after decades of operation.