The city’s Office of Multimodal Planning and Councilmember Jamie Gauthier (3rd District) are hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 20, to provide information and get feedback on the 47th Street Traffic Safety Project, which aims to improve traffic safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers from Chestnut Street to Kingsessing Avenue.

The project was first presented in 2023, along with the 48th Street Traffic Safety Project, but the redesign and repaving phases were put on hold earlier this year since more public input was needed. The initial plan included such changes as conversion of a portion of the street, between Paschall and Market, to one-way vehicle traffic.

Blocks along 47th Street from Chestnut Street to Paschall Avenue is on the City’s Vision Zero High Injury Network (HIN).

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Dinner Out Catering is bringing their delicious, family-style meals to Drexel-Aramark’s Local Restaurant Row next week. (Photo courtesy of The Enterprise Center)

Local restaurant lovers take note: Two new local pop-up culinary experiences will open next week and in early December on Local Restaurant Row located near 34th and Race on the Drexel University campus.

Dinner Out Catering, which features main course entrees such as Thai Chili Glazed Salmon and Coq au Vin and “upgraded American fare,” will be on the row Nov. 18-21 from 4-8 p.m.

Smokin’ Sone’s Fresh Grill, a “boutique catering and private chef company,” will be open Dec. 9-12 during the same hours. Smokin’ Sone’s offers an extensive menu of “upscale comfort” food and is led by Chef Sonya R. Combs.

Both Dinner Out Catering and Smokin’ Sone’s honed their skills at The Enterprise Center’s Dorrance H. Hamilton Center for Culinary Enterprises (CCE), a culinary start-up culinary business incubator that includes a commercial kitchen.

Local Restaurant Row, which is located at the Northside Dining Terrace at 203 N. 34th Street St., is open to Drexel students and the public. It’s a partnership between Drexel University, Aramark, and The Enterprise Center and is aimed at giving neighborhood restaurateurs the opportunity to showcase their menus to a wider audience. 

SEPTA is planning to increase fares by 29 percent from the current rates and also shut down many routes in an effort to help fund its operating expenses.

The decision was made this week after it became clear that much needed state funding may not be coming any time soon. SEPTA faces a $240 million budget deficit. SEPTA is also currently negotiating a new contract with its workers’ union, Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 234, which is demanding wage increases and safety improvements for both passengers and transit workers.

A bill funding SEPTA $161 million per year has passed the Pennsylvania State House with bipartisan support, but is being stalled in the Senate.

Starting January 1, 2025, SEPTA fares may increase to $2.90 per ride, according to a proposal announced this week. This is the second fare increase proposed by SEPTA this year. The first increase, from $2.00 to $2.50 per ride for SEPTA Key and contactless card users, was proposed in September and will likely become effective on Dec. 1.

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SEPTA has erected metal fences around the 40th Street portal in preparation for the potential workers strike, according to the University City District (UCD). The exact purpose of the fences is not clear.

The strike was expected to begin as early as today (Nov. 8), right after the expiration of the contract between SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 234, but since some progress was made during the negotiations of the new contract in the past couple of days it has been postponed.

“After months of bargaining we finally began to make some progress over the past couple days, but we simply ran out of time. We’re willing to go the extra mile and grant additional time to reach a fair agreement,” TWU Local 234 President Brian Pollitt said yesterday. “However, let me be clear if SEPTA’s managers fail to meet our demands, we will be on the picket line by the end of the month.”

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Here’s an interesting shakeup at the storefront located at 4508 Walnut Street (near 45th and Walnut), which was until recently occupied by Lulu Cafe. The cafe specializing in Taiwanese street snacks and bubble tea, has recently closed its doors on Walnut and announced its move to 28-30 S. 40th Street, the space formerly occupied by the Green Line Cafe. The space on S. 40th Street is currently under renovation and Lulu is expected to reopen at this new location next month.

While the space at 45th and Walnut has been vacant since late August, a new sign appeared in its window, announcing that a new restaurant, Urban Sushi & Kitchen, is going to open there soon. The new establishment will serve halal food, according to the sign. So far, no additional information is available. We’ll let you know when we have more details.

Keswick Cycle opening in University City in 2011 (Archived photo).

Keswick Cycle has unexpectedly closed its University City location on Locust St. near 40th after 13 years of operation. There were no prior announcements about the closing on their social media, but there is a message on their website that reads simply:

“We are saddened to announce the closing of our University City location.”

The last post on the store’s Facebook page is dated Oct. 15. Some operations at the store are still temporarily ongoing for those who have pending order pickups.

The business was founded in 1933 in Glenside. The University City shop was their only location in Philadelphia. Two other remaining shops are in Glenside and Paoli where customers are now referred to by Keswick Cycle.