West Philly’s newest bike shop, a branch of the Glenside-based Keswick Cycle, opened this weekend just in time for the return of students to the area. The shop occupies about half of the first floor in the building that formerly housed the Strikes Bowling Lounge at 4040 Locust St. Workers were still moving in bikes and other merchandise Saturday afternoon, but customers were invited in to have a look around.

Market Street Promenade? Cliff Lee Commons?

We’re trying to think of a name for the new, soon-to-be opened public space outside of 30th Street Station that is the reason behind all of that construction over the last couple of months. The University City District needs your help in naming it. What’s in it for you? Bragging rights and a $500 Amtrak gift card.

The space will includes lots of seating and trees and plants, turning what has been one of the least pedestrian-friendly parts of the city into a gathering spot complete with activities like musical performances. The space should be complete by Labor Day weekend.

OK, back to the name thing. You can submit as many names as you like, but they must be submitted separately. If a name is chosen that has duplicate entries, one will be randomly selected. The entry deadline is midnight on Sept. 30 and a 10-person jury will choose the name from among the entries and announce it in mid October.

To enter, send an e-mail to newpublicspace [at] universitycity.org that includes:

• Suggested Name for Public Space
• Reasons for the suggested name (no more than 150 words)
• Your Name
• Phone Number
• Email

More information is available at the University City District Facebook page here.
 

PhillyCarShare is ending its experiment as a nonprofit and has been sold to Enterprise Holdings, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Many neighbors are probably wondering what will happen to the PhillyCarShare membership and its fleet (26 locations in West Philly) once the sale is finalized. According to Enterprise officials, they are going to retain the PhillyCarShare name, its 25 employees and even expand the fleet, which has been shrinking since 2009.

There was no mention of whether this transaction will affect membership fees and other rates. Currently, a PhillyCarShare residential member pays $15/month ($125/year), $0.25/mile, and hourly rates begin at $4.45.

The Inky quotes PhillyCarShare executive director Gerald Furgione:

“Enterprise definitely saved us. The only thing we regret is that we will no longer be a nonprofit.”

A bill for $2.7 million in back taxes and penalties has apparently led to the sale.

The debate over whether car sharing firms should be treated the same as regular car rental firms, which pay an excise tax in most states for each car rented, has been heating up in recent years and may be behind the sale as well.

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.

NBCPhiladelphia has a reminder about the parking rate increase today. It’s going to cost you a little more to park in University City and Center City. Rates will increase by 50 cents to $2 an hour in University City and $2.50 an hour in Center City.

The rates apply to meters and kiosks. The increase stems from the recent decision to raise parking rates to help cover the School District of Philadelphia’s $629 million budget shortfall.

The city estimates that the parking rate increases, increases in property taxes and about $10 million from the City’s general fund will provide a little over $50 million for the School District.

Are Baltimore Avenue and Spruce Street in West Philly among the worst places in the city to ride a bike?

The good folks at the Philadelphia Weekly think so. In “The Five Best (and Worst) places to Bike in Philly,” writer Daniel Denvir pans the two streets because of the proximity of parked cars to bike lanes. He writes of Baltimore Avenue:

Baltimore Avenue, the main drag of queer, anarchist, vegan, crusty West Philly? It couldn’t be—but it is! I know two people who have had car doors opened into them, one of whom broke her collarbone. A sleepy side street where you can bike down the middle of the road may be slower than a big street bike lane, but it is always safer to bike without parked cars immediately to your right.

First, we have no problem with queer, anarchist, vegan or crusty (that’s one of the reasons why we live here) but, dude, have you been to West Philly lately?

Baltimore and Spruce (along with Kensington Avenue and “all those bike lanes next to parked cars”) rank fourth on the list of the worst behind the Ben Franklin Parkway, Girard Avenue and Greys Ferry Bridge.

We’re not sure if they are among the worst streets in the city. But getting doored does suck.