PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread II

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Some good stuff here and from PhilliesPhan.

If Fry does what Fry does, Temple will make huge strides connecting it's campus right down to City Hall. Containing violence and creating a safer environment for students is of the utmost priority. To me, it's the biggest detractor the school has. I've had at least 3 family members come and look at that school and passed not because of the quality of the education or the curriculum, but because of the area it's in and the reputation for violence.

I haven't spent a lot of time around campus but the times I've been there at night, even Broad St is super sketchy. It's a damn shame because it's a great school. It's so frustrating to have something like the neighborhood ruin it as an option for prospective students. PhilliesPhan can (and hopefully will) comment on how he felt as a student there and what it was like to hang around there socially.

Fry figures out a way to expand their real estate and control violence and he will continue his remarkable legacy here in Philly and solidify his standing as one of the greats.

He will need the help of a better economic environment.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by cardeza

wasnt someone talking about graffitti on or around the highways recently???

https://www.penndot.pa.gov/RegionalO...px?newsid=9417

It’s alive!

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Edmund Bacon deserves a statue in effigy, and a place amongst some of the most mistaken and ill-advised Philadelphians of all time.

Jim Kenney seconds that motion.

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

Edmund Bacon deserves a statue in effigy, and a place amongst some of the most mistaken and ill-advised Philadelphians of all time.

True. I included him with some trepidation, although my short list was of folks who'd had a major impact on Philly's urban environment, whether for good or ill. And he WAS instrumental in the preservation of Society Hill in the 1950s and 1960s when others sought to decimate it, right?

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Knight Hospitaller

It’s alive!

They'll close a highway down to remove graffitti but can't sweep a highway shoulder. Blessings from PennDot. And for sure, they'd never send a sweeper to clean the highway when it's already closed for another reason because that would make too much sense.

[mcgrath618]

Originally Posted by Philly Fan

True. I included him with some trepidation, although my short list was of folks who'd had a major impact on Philly's urban environment, whether for good or ill. And he WAS instrumental in the preservation of Society Hill in the 1950s and 1960s when others sought to decimate it, right?

True, but odd that he didn’t take the same approach to Poplar in North Philadelphia, or with Broad Street Station’s headhouse.

[Knight Hospitaller]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

True, but odd that he didn’t take the same approach to Poplar in North Philadelphia, or with Broad Street Station’s headhouse.

There seemed to be a real antipathy towards Frank Furness’s designs at that time. We have lost a lot of them.

[TonyTone]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

They'll close a highway down to remove graffitti but can't sweep a highway shoulder. Blessings from PennDot. And for sure, they'd never send a sweeper to clean the highway when it's already closed for another reason because that would make too much sense.

They have been sweeping highways all week.

There has been Street sweepers on 76 & 95 this past week at night.

Penndot & the city are working to clean it up. Remember this isn’t gonna change over night, however continuous work will fix the problem

[Philly Fan]

Originally Posted by mcgrath618

True, but odd that he didn’t take the same approach to Poplar in North Philadelphia, or with Broad Street Station’s headhouse.

In other words, he was a bit "Footloose?" Or maybe that was his son. [Sorry, couldn't resist. ]

[PhilliesPhan]

Originally Posted by Redddog

Some good stuff here and from PhilliesPhan.

If Fry does what Fry does, Temple will make huge strides connecting it's campus right down to City Hall. Containing violence and creating a safer environment for students is of the utmost priority. To me, it's the biggest detractor the school has. I've had at least 3 family members come and look at that school and passed not because of the quality of the education or the curriculum, but because of the area it's in and the reputation for violence.

I haven't spent a lot of time around campus but the times I've been there at night, even Broad St is super sketchy. It's a damn shame because it's a great school. It's so frustrating to have something like the neighborhood ruin it as an option for prospective students. PhilliesPhan can (and hopefully will) comment on how he felt as a student there and what it was like to hang around there socially.

Fry figures out a way to expand their real estate and control violence and he will continue his remarkable legacy here in Philly and solidify his standing as one of the greats.

I was an Owl up until I graduated in 2018. My perspective is a bit different from other students since I grew up in the city, but I rarely felt unsafe. I used to regularly stay out until 2AM doing karaoke at Maxi's on Tuesdays, 2AM at Draught Horse on Wednesdays, I'd do late night food runs to The Fresh Grocer back when it was open 24/7, and I'd have late night sessions in the Tech, Paley, and Alter Hall (Fox School of Business). My apartment at the time was at 19th and Berks, which was slightly to the west of where most students lived - I felt like Gratz Street was the western boundary at the time. The only trouble I had was getting my bike stolen, which I recovered hours later. I definitely received a lot of TUAlerts about ongoing incidents, but they didn't affect how I lived my life aside from avoiding a specific area during the incident. Other than that, I loved my neighborhood. The three story brick rowhomes were gorgeous, the 33 dropped me off right in front of my house, the 3 and BSL were close by, and it had some underrated attractions that I loved visiting, such as the Wagner Free Institute of Science.

I've always felt like attending Temple is fine so long as you remain aware of your surroundings and have at least a minimal amount of street smarts. I used to shake my head at the number of kids walking late at night with their headphones in, for example. Most of the violent crime in the area isn't directed at Temple students, so you'll be fine as long as you remain vigilant. My mom always appreciated the fact that the Temple Police have a large patrol area that overlaps with 22nd District of the PPD.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

They have been sweeping highways all week.

There has been Street sweepers on 76 & 95 this past week at night.

Penndot & the city are working to clean it up. Remember this isn’t gonna change over night, however continuous work will fix the problem

where do you get this information from? or have you just seen it?

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

where do you get this information from? or have you just seen it?

I saw crews on 95 while travelling to NY on Sat. Just sayin.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Redddog

I saw crews on 95 while travelling to NY on Sat. Just sayin.

I've started submitting tickets on PennDots website for particularly egregious zones.

The first reply I got from them was something like, we're seriously understaffed and if you want a job please apply. But in the most unprofessional and not funny way. It went on to cite staffing levels in a PennDot region that doesn't even include Philadelphia and I was like, what's the point of that.

Anyways. I have noticed things getting better on the highways but I've also been stuck in arbitrary PennDot traffic jams (the most recent being to repair potholes on the 95 bridge just north of the airport) and I sat in traffic for an hour to watch 2 lanes of traffic cut down to 1 for potholes and no sweeper in site. Given traffic was already stopped, there should have been sweepers running the stretch of 95 north of the closure and sure enough there were none. And plenty of trash to go around.

[Raja]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

I've started submitting tickets on PennDots website for particularly egregious zones.

The first reply I got from them was something like, we're seriously understaffed and if you want a job please apply. But in the most unprofessional and not funny way. It went on to cite staffing levels in a PennDot region that doesn't even include Philadelphia and I was like, what's the point of that.

Anyways. I have noticed things getting better on the highways but I've also been stuck in arbitrary PennDot traffic jams (the most recent being to repair potholes on the 95 bridge just north of the airport) and I sat in traffic for an hour to watch 2 lanes of traffic cut down to 1 for potholes and no sweeper in site. Given traffic was already stopped, there should have been sweepers running the stretch of 95 north of the closure and sure enough there were none. And plenty of trash to go around.

I go back and forth thinking it's lack of funding and thinking it's just incompetence.

I drive to DE at least three times a week for work. Immediately--like, immediately--over the state line, the interstate goes from disgusting to beautiful. Smooth surface, maintained vegetation, and virtually no litter.

Why?

Well, as to the litter and the vegetation, I see maintenance crews along 95 in Delaware at least once a week. By comparison, I see them once or twice a year in Pennsylvania. I mean, JFC there was a whole dead deer that was left decomposing for months on the shoulder last winter near the airport. This could be a symptom of underfunding. Delaware's state income tax is more than double Pennsylvania's. And clearly some of that extra money is going to maintenance.

As to the road surface, I've concluded that it simply has to be at least partly incompetence. PA seems to resurface the roads as frequently as DE and NJ. But it seems that no matter how often PennDOT scrapes and repaves, within months the road forms terrible transverse cracks and bumps and, eventually, potholes. This doesn't happen in DE, and I don't see them on the roads in NJ either when I get re-routed that way. I don't understand why it's so hard for PA to maintain its roads.

I will say that, of late, the Philadelphia sections of the road have been cleaner, and for several months now the litter has been far worse in Delaware County than it is in Philadelphia. Also, the cleanup of the refinery site at the bottom of the Platt has, by any and every measure, improved the "welcome to Philadelphia" experience you get coming in from the airport.

I know many folks on here are anti-highway and avoid driving as much as possible; I wish that was my life, too. But man... the lack of upkeep on the roads is truly atrocious and really does set us apart in a bad way. Hopefully things keep marginally improving.

[japmes]

A street sweeper came down my street in Fairmount last week. I've never seen that before.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

I've started submitting tickets on PennDots website for particularly egregious zones.

The first reply I got from them was something like, we're seriously understaffed and if you want a job please apply. But in the most unprofessional and not funny way. It went on to cite staffing levels in a PennDot region that doesn't even include Philadelphia and I was like, what's the point of that.

Anyways. I have noticed things getting better on the highways but I've also been stuck in arbitrary PennDot traffic jams (the most recent being to repair potholes on the 95 bridge just north of the airport) and I sat in traffic for an hour to watch 2 lanes of traffic cut down to 1 for potholes and no sweeper in site. Given traffic was already stopped, there should have been sweepers running the stretch of 95 north of the closure and sure enough there were none. And plenty of trash to go around.

They’re understaffed but PA has who knows how many billions to widen 95?

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

They'll close a highway down to remove graffitti but can't sweep a highway shoulder. Blessings from PennDot. And for sure, they'd never send a sweeper to clean the highway when it's already closed for another reason because that would make too much sense.

If the shoulders were never swept it would look ten times worse, Ive seen them out there before. Just not with enough frequency. Ive also seen crews doing litter pickup from embankments, etc. This stuff only happens during the middle of weekdays off peak- if you arent driving on the highways at that time you likely never seen any of it.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

They’re understaffed but PA has who knows how many billions to widen 95?

Not sure how many times people have to be told this but capital and operating budgets are not the same. Most large highway projects are primarily funded by federal dollars designated for capital improvements. A billion dollar lane addition project has absolutely nothing to do with staffing for road maintenance.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by japmes

A street sweeper came down my street in Fairmount last week. I've never seen that before.

Nonsense, no street cleaning of any type is taking place- just ask people on here. Funny how in all the complaining of how nothing ever changes, the citywide cleaning by Parker isn't mentioned. Just last week someone on here incorrectly said the street cleaning program is in "pilot" stage- which is was about 5 years ago.

[cardeza]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

I've started submitting tickets on PennDots website for particularly egregious zones.

The first reply I got from them was something like, we're seriously understaffed and if you want a job please apply. But in the most unprofessional and not funny way. It went on to cite staffing levels in a PennDot region that doesn't even include Philadelphia and I was like, what's the point of that.

Anyways. I have noticed things getting better on the highways but I've also been stuck in arbitrary PennDot traffic jams (the most recent being to repair potholes on the 95 bridge just north of the airport) and I sat in traffic for an hour to watch 2 lanes of traffic cut down to 1 for potholes and no sweeper in site. Given traffic was already stopped, there should have been sweepers running the stretch of 95 north of the closure and sure enough there were none. And plenty of trash to go around.

You stating something about how
operations should be combined doesn't automatically make it make sense. First of all most road improvements (other than potholes) are not done by PennDOT, they are done by contractors. If a lane is blocked its to do construction and the people doing that are not a street sweeping crew- also the general idea is to get the lanes reopened in as short a window as possible so there are only so many tasks you can pile into a road closure window. ABout the only time third party contractors include street sweeping in what they are doing is when they are milling and paving. Beyond that having people doing cleaning while other people are in the way doing actual construction doesn't make a whole lot of sense.