This morning a crew from the University City District began installing the city’s first “parklet,” a wood and metal platform complete with tables, chairs and planter boxes at 43rd and Baltimore designed to reclaim parking spots for more leisure space.

The platform, which extends six feet into the street and is the length of two parking spots along 43rd Street in front of the Green Line Cafe, essentially widening the seating area of the cafe, although you won’t have to buy anything to sit there. Oddly, the spot chosen for the first parklet is about 50 feet from an actual park – Clark Park – which was recently renovated to add additional cafe-style seating.

The parklet will occupy a parking spot where a Philly Car Share vehicle was once parked. That spot will be moved up 43rd Street.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the parklet will be at 43rd and Baltimore at 1 p.m. on Thursday.

Parklets, which are designed to be temporary and portable, have become a fairly common site in many cities. They are designed to extend pedestrian space in busy urban neighborhoods and encourage people to drive less (presumably by making parking spots harder to find?) and slow down the spread of asphalt.

The parklet is a cooperative effort with the City of Philadelphia and the University City District and with money from a William Penn Foundation grant.

One of the area’s best-known bicycle shops will open a location at the former Strikes Bowling Lounge (and an original Urban Outfitters store) at 4040 Locust St. later this summer.

Keswick Cycle will reportedly open the 4,000-square-foot store in late August, just as students start to return to the area en masse. The store, which will include bike and clothing sales and maintenance, will likely be the largest bike shop in West Philly.

The store will also include a studio to help elite riders and triathletes get fitted for bikes.

Keswick Cycle has been a neighborhood fixture in the Montgomery County suburb of Glenside since the 1930s and also operates a store in Cherry Hill, N.J.

Neighborhood Bike Works is holding the first of many June bike sales today from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. near St. Mary’s Church (3916 Locust Walk).

Today’s sale is being dubbed as a “preview sale” in preparation for the Big Sale next Saturday (June 11) at the same location from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Bike prices will be as low as $20 and some spare parts – like tires and tubes – will also be available. Keep in mind that the cheaper the bike the more likely you will need to do a little work to get it up and running.

Proceeds from the sale will go toward scholarships for the Neighborhood Bike Works’ summer programs.

Bartram’s Garden is offering a half-price membership at the Seed Saver level as part of a community outreach effort. A $50 membership is now $25.

As a Seed Saver member you are eligible for 15 free-admission program passes to tours of this national historic landmark house and garden and for monthly educational programs (valid through June 30, 2012). Passes are transferable so you can share them with friends and family. Bartram’s Garden members also receive discounts on Garden Shop and plant purchases and invitations to plant sale previews.

The offer expires June 30. For more information call Alison McDowell at 215-729-5281 x103 or email: amcdowell [at] bartramsgarden.org

Ana T. Forrest is a yoga superstar. She has been helping people fix body, mind and spirit through yoga for almost 40 years. Developer of Forrest Yoga, an approach that borrows from the East but is aimed at a “Western lifestyle,” has become a standard class in studios around the world. This weekend she will be in West Philly.

Forrest, who has used yoga to overcome much trauma in her won life, will conduct workshops Friday through Sunday at Studio 34 (4522 Baltimore Ave.).  Following workshops on Saturday and Sunday, Forrest will read from her new book, Fierce Medicine, and take questions. The book is available at Bindlestiff Books (4530 Baltimore Ave.), which will also have copies at the readings.

Here is the workshop schedule:

Friday: 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Saturday: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m and 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (reading to follow)
Sunday: 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (reading to follow)

You can sign up for all four session at a discounted price or individual sessions. For more information and to sign up go to Studio 34’s website.

Landscape crews mowed the newly installed grass at Clark Park “A” today, a major step toward opening the section of the park that borders Baltimore Avenue, which has been fenced off since late last year.

The Friends of Clark Park wrote that one of the “yardsticks” for opening the park was two successful mows of the grass that had been laid down over the last few weeks. The trigger for opening the part will be the next cut. The fencing was scheduled to come down sometime in June. Now we will all be watching for the second cut, which will signal the park’s long-awaited opening.