The annual Christmas tree recycling initiative by UC Green received a great response from the community this year. Residents brought more than 400 Christmas trees to Clark Park on January 5, the University City District reports. Residents also donated money to UC Green, which turned the collected trees into wood chips that will be used in the neighborhood’s community gardens. On the same day, eForce Compliance collected nearly 11,000 pounds of used electronics from local residents, which will also be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally-safe manner.

One of other ways to help UC Green, a local non-profit that works on community greening projects, is to buy their firewood, all local and all split by volunteers, currently available at Mariposa Food Co-op (49th & Baltimore).

Photo courtesy UCD.

After publication of our post “Dear City, Turn on the lights in Cedar Park” a number of readers commented about their experience with submitting maintenance requests via 311 phone, online or Twitter service. But if you own a smartphone, one reader, Andy L., recommended downloading the new Philly 311 mobile app. The app came out just a few months ago and works great.

“It lets you upload photos and gives you status updates until it’s done. I just started using it, and it’s working for me. For best response, try to pick the right category, like graffiti, or dumping, or problem with a vacant property, abandoned car, etc.,” Andy L. recommends.

Blackout in Cedar Park. (Photo by Amara Rockar)

Some neighbors in the Cedar Park neighborhood have been struggling to get some of the lights back on in the park. Several street lamps in the park have been dark for a few months. A request to 311 to repair the lights was submitted by neighbor Ryan Briggs on December 17, 2012 but was closed on January 1 when the Streets Department reported that “the light was found burning.” However, the request had been submitted to repair at least three lights and residents are reporting that now all but one of the park lamps are out, which presents a significant safety hazard.

Ryan wrote us and said that 311 now says it’s a Parks and Rec problem.

Another Cedar Park resident, Amara Rockar, also tried to submit an online maintenance request, including photos of the dysfunctional lights. She says that 311 is now telling her via Twitter to submit a new request under a different coding, which, she says, “seems pretty useless if citizens don’t know the exact correct coding for a particular situation.” Calling 311 is also not very effective since you don’t have a paper trail.

So while the struggle between the city and the residents is going on the problem remains unsolved and residents near the park are getting frustrated.

The 311 website is here.

UPDATE: We have received a response from 311 on Twitter:

@westphillylocal Just spoke with mgmt in @PhilaParkandRec. Requests have been received and lights in Cedar Park have been queued for repair.

— Philly311 (@philly311) January 10, 2013

UPDATE 2 (Friday, Jan. 11): We are happy to report that all but one lights in the park were back on last night (see photo below tweeted by Amara Rockar).

As we reported earlier, the University Avenue/34th Street Bridge over the Schuylkill river has been closed for repairs since Jan. 2 for approximately three weeks. As it was expected the area near the bridge is congested and motorists are advised to take detours over Grays Ferry Avenue, Woodland Avenue and 38th Street.

Penn and city police are deploying additional overtime officers to assist motorists in congested areas and to assist with traffic control at some vital intersections. One of the problems that the police are dealing with during the bridge closure is illegal U-Turns from the Westbound I-76 South Street ramp to the Eastbound South I-76 South Street ramp. “U-turns on the South street bridge is both illegal and hazardous, and negatively impact the congestion,” reads a Traffic Advisory by Penn Public Safety.

The University City Science Center (UCSC) will soon get its own residential building. Plans have been revealed for a construction of a 27-story apartment building on the UCSC campus near 36th and Market Streets. The construction, which will begin in the fall of 2013, is expected to be completed in early 2015. The new 400,000 square feet building will be a mix of studio, efficiency and one- and two-bedroom apartments (364 total!) and will also include a fitness center, a rooftop pool, 200 parking spaces, and about 17,000 square feet of ground-floor retail. In addition, the building will be topped off with a green roof.

“This new project will add an entirely new dimension to the Science Center and our campus. It will help us achieve our goal of ‘activating’ our campus and creating a dynamic environment in which to live, work and play,” says Science Center President & CEO Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D., MBA. “As we celebrate our 50th anniversary in 2013, we are looking to the future – and the future of the Science Center centers on a vibrant 24/7 community.”

The project is a joint venture between Wexford Equities, the parent company of Wexford Science & Technology, and Southern Land Company.

The UCSC, one of the nation’s largest urban research parks, was established in 1963.

A car fire stopped traffic near 40th and Walnut streets this afternoon. A reader, James, took these photos shortly before 3 p.m. after the fire had been put out. James said that several streets were closed due to the incident. We’re trying to get more information on what happened and if anyone was injured.

Photos by James Buckley.