You know that bike that has been locked to street sign near your house for what seems like years? The City wants to know about it.

On July 23 the City is planning a “clean sweep” of abandoned bikes.

Here’s a notice from the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities:

The Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Utilities (MOTU) and the Philadelphia Streets Department need your help to identify all of the abandoned bikes in the city in preparation for an Abandoned Bike Clean-Up project.  On July 23^rd,the Streets department will be conducting a clean sweep of abandoned bicycles. 

Removing abandoned bicycles from city streets helps bicyclists by making bicycle parking easier to find and it helps non-bicyclists by clearing-out scarce sidewalk space.  Abandoned bikes are those that have missing or damaged parts, are in un-useable condition, and have been locked in the same location for one month or more.  These bikes will be tagged with notification for removal by the city one week before the scheduled removal.  All of the bicycles that are removed during the sweep will be donated to local charities for refurbishment.

You can report an abandoned bike by calling the City’s 311 hotline. You will need to know the location of the bicycle, what the bike is locked to and any distinguishing features including color, broken or missing parts or any “unique identifiers.”

Phase 1 of the Route 34 Track Renewal Project began this morning. Buses will replace the trolleys all the way from the 40th Street Portal to the end of the line at 61st Street until the completion of the project on September 1, 2012. Phase 1 will last until July 7 and will include the reconstruction of the tracks between 40th and 42nd streets. During this phase, the entire two-block area on Baltimore Avenue will be closed.

The “13th and Market” on the bus (see photo) is a little confusing. The bus will take you to the 40th Street Portal where you can catch trolley the rest of the way.

Phase 2, 3 and 4 are scheduled to take place between July 1 and September 1 and will involve track reconstruction and Baltimore Avenue closings between 49th and 52nd streets, 54th and 55th streets, and the intersection of 58th and Baltimore. All traffic, including buses, will be detoured around the construction sites and side streets in the construction area will be closed to through traffic. For more information and the schedule for each phase, go here.

If you have questions, please call SEPTA Customer Service at (215) 580-7800.

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.