PHILADELPHIA | Lowrise/General Developments Thread II

[3rd&Brown]

Damn, Tony!

We'll miss you.

[El Duderino]

Originally Posted by PhilliesPhan

204 units for 52nd Street incoming:



Hopefully this is a sign that the revitalization of 52nd Street will commence soon. I could see 52nd Street between Market and Baltimore being one of the city's coolest streets one day, similar to what Frankford Avenue in Fishtown was 10 years ago. I have the same feeling about Chelten Avenue through Germantown.

This is actually the back part of the lot for the project that went to CDR recently, which thankfully includes one of the biggest chunks of affordable units (41) of any development in the city

204-unit apartment complex proposed in West Philly includes affordable housing
https://www.phillyvoice.com/west-phi...52nd-chestnut/
May 24, 2024

[Skintreesnail]

Originally Posted by El Duderino

Updates on three projects at the Old City/NoLibs border - this area needs some traffic calming/pedestrian improvements, too

Lotus Lofts Signals Change for Pocket of Old City
https://jackphillyre.substack.com/p/...nge-for-pocket
July 19, 2024

They really need to do something about the 676/95 interchange. Sending everyone out onto the local roads there doesn't make sense.

[El Duderino]

Originally Posted by Skintreesnail

They really need to do something about the 676/95 interchange. Sending everyone out onto the local roads there doesn't make sense.

Funny, there are plans that are now nearly a decade old that were supposed to deal with exactly that issue. In a turn of events that would surprise absolutely no one, things are still exactly the same as before.

PHS has bold plans to redo base of Ben Franklin Bridge
https://whyy.org/articles/phs-has-bo...anklin-bridge/
Plan Philly, Jim Saska, 3/23/2015

[700 Level]

Originally Posted by TonyTone

Well you guys, I have some good & bad news.

Ill start with the good, I love yall, & I appreciate the support you all have given me with my work the past couple years, I have been building, learning & growing everyday, every month & every year in the city of Philly, my family were born & raised here & so was I.

I love Philly & it will always remain in my heart but I’m sorry to say im making a change & that change involves moving on.

I am moving to Atlanta, & while I wont be here in person, ill be here in discussion & visits.

The good news however is that im not leaving the forum, ill still be here sharing & talking about Philly. Ill also just be more heavily intune with the Atlanta & South Threads.

I love this forum & cant wait to add on another city & more work to the history.


-Tony V

Congratulations to you, Tony. Your drone photos are awesome. But your perspective on all-things-Philadelphia might be even better. By living in Atlanta, your perspective will only grow sharper, so I look forward to your future musings on this forum. I am sure you are going to find plenty of things you like better in Atlanta, but also a load of things you'll miss from around here. Best of luck with the move.

[Skintreesnail]

Originally Posted by El Duderino

Funny, there are plans that are now nearly a decade old that were supposed to deal with exactly that issue. In a turn of events that would surprise absolutely no one, things are still exactly the same as before.

Sigh. I remember that now. Pretty maddening. Could have also had a hotel at 5th and race too. Glad to see some better quality now though.


https://hiddencityphila.org/2016/01/...weet-farewell/

Congratulations Tony, I'll miss your photo updates and contributions. Wish you the best in Atlanta!

[mcgrath618]

Congrats, Tony. This city will sorely miss you.

[TonyTone]

Hey everyone! Thank you all for the kind words & praise. I never realized how much of an impact I had on the Philly Thread. I’m in the middle of the move right now, so as soon as I get a chance ill tune back in !

[Redddog]

Originally Posted by Skintreesnail

Sigh. I remember that now. Pretty maddening. Could have also had a hotel at 5th and race too. Glad to see some better quality now though.


https://hiddencityphila.org/2016/01/...weet-farewell/

Congratulations Tony, I'll miss your photo updates and contributions. Wish you the best in Atlanta!

Ugh. This kills me. A hotel/venue there would have been transformative. The residential they put up is fine, I guess, but that hotel would have been amazing. What a miss.

[blart]

7/20 Girard near Front

[TonyTone]

I guess we got a connection

VTV05892 by Antonio Baze, on Flickr

[PHLtoNYC]

^ Great to see Visit Philly advertising outside of the Northeast. Atlanta is a great tourism connection to build.

[Broadcastthatboom]

Haven't seen anyone speak about it here, but the recent story of the CHOP doctor being struck and killed in the 'protected' bike lane at 18th and Spruce is horrible, and the Mayor's statement about it was absolutely abysmal. I hope this will be a catalyst for improved, permanent infrastructure implementations, and I hope there are continued demonstrations and protests set up for it. It's ridiculous that bare minimum safety efforts aren't enforced and development of them is either treated as an apathetic afterthought or are actively hindered by local politicians, directly causing harm to citizens.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by Broadcastthatboom

I hope this will be a catalyst for improved, permanent infrastructure implementations, and I hope there are continued demonstrations and protests set up for it.

It would seem to me that from most to least safe would be protected bike lane, non-protected bike lane, and then no bike lane. Considering that even in Center City, 90% of the streets have no bike lanes, what are you practically advocating for?

(Serious question, not trolling or anything.)

[Skintreesnail]

Very tragic and horrible. Went to the vigil yesterday, lots of people came to pay their respects. Sadly this kind of thing is way more common than it should be. There was also a death around that same time of someone standing on the sidewalk getting hit. There needs to be more enforcement of speed limits, traffic laws and more traffic calming measures. It's crazy that we can't feel safe biking or walking in this city and that cars are put first so often. Walking my daughter to school has resulted in a bunch of near misses as cars run stop signs, traffic lights, speed around turns, or just driving erratic. I bike to work periodically up 22nd, and while the parking protected section feels safe, north of south street does not at all. Our council member fought safety improvements to Washington ave, one of the more dangerous corridors in the city where there have been numerous pedestrian and cyclist fatalities. It seems to take forever for any changes to occur, even simple things like raised crosswalks speed bumps, intersection bulbouts run into ridiculous bureaucratic walls. Something fundamental needs to change in city hall to fix that, which just doesn't seem to be happening.

[3rd&Brown]

Originally Posted by Skintreesnail

Very tragic and horrible. Went to the vigil yesterday, lots of people came to pay their respects. Sadly this kind of thing is way more common than it should be. There was also a death around that same time of someone standing on the sidewalk getting hit. There needs to be more enforcement of speed limits, traffic laws and more traffic calming measures. It's crazy that we can't feel safe biking or walking in this city and that cars are put first so often. Walking my daughter to school has resulted in a bunch of near misses as cars run stop signs, traffic lights, speed around turns, or just driving erratic. I bike to work periodically up 22nd, and while the parking protected section feels safe, north of south street does not at all. Our council member fought safety improvements to Washington ave, one of the more dangerous corridors in the city where there have been numerous pedestrian and cyclist fatalities. It seems to take forever for any changes to occur, even simple things like raised crosswalks speed bumps, intersection bulbouts run into ridiculous bureaucratic walls. Something fundamental needs to change in city hall to fix that, which just doesn't seem to be happening.

We need more bike lanes, yes. But we live in an era where cars are simulataneously more powerful and quieter than they've ever been before. We also live in an era where most 20-30 years olds have grown up watching Fast & Furious and playing Gran Turismo and the average person thinks they're a Formula 1 driver. Add to that all the distractions we have as drivers (phones, etc) and it's a recipe for disaster.

It's one thing to drive 85 on I95. It's an entirely other thing to drive 55 or 60 on Delaware Avenue, or Lehigh Avenue, or Allegheny Avenue or Lincoln Drive, which we all know is too often the case. At this point, I think the answer is just a massive amount of traffic enforcement. Due it through cameras, speed bumps, additional traffic patrols etc. People should know if you're gonna drive over, I dunno, say 35 miles an hour on Spruce Street in Rittenhouse Square or Society, you WILL get a ticket, no if ands or buts about it.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by PHL10

It would seem to me that from most to least safe would be protected bike lane, non-protected bike lane, and then no bike lane. Considering that even in Center City, 90% of the streets have no bike lanes, what are you practically advocating for?

(Serious question, not trolling or anything.)

A connected, safe bike network. Most immediately that means a concrete curb to protect the bike lanes on Spruce and Pine. Alternatively, reconfiguring the layout and moving the travel lane to the right side with parking on the left and the bike lane to the left of that with curb separation works too (just like they do it in DC). We're years behind other cities here. DC, NYC, Chicago, LA, and Boston all have miles and miles of curb protected bike lanes. Even Pittsburgh has a curb protected lane. We have none. It's embarrassing.

[Gatorade_Jim]

Originally Posted by 3rd&Brown

We need more bike lanes, yes. But we live in an era where cars are simulataneously more powerful and quieter than they've ever been before. We also live in an era where most 20-30 years olds have grown up watching Fast & Furious and playing Gran Turismo and the average person thinks they're a Formula 1 driver. Add to that all the distractions we have as drivers (phones, etc) and it's a recipe for disaster.

It's one thing to drive 85 on I95. It's an entirely other thing to drive 55 or 60 on Delaware Avenue, or Lehigh Avenue, or Allegheny Avenue or Lincoln Drive, which we all know is too often the case. At this point, I think the answer is just a massive amount of traffic enforcement. Due it through cameras, speed bumps, additional traffic patrols etc. People should know if you're gonna drive over, I dunno, say 35 miles an hour on Spruce Street in Rittenhouse Square or Society, you WILL get a ticket, no if ands or buts about it.

Enforcement changes driving behavior over a longer period of time, infrastructure changes it now and prevents it from even being possible for these situations to happen. Things like curb bumpouts, daylighting intersections, safe bike infrastructure, etc. are the solution IN ADDITION TO increased enforcement through all of those means. It's not one or the other.

[Broadcastthatboom]

Originally Posted by PHL10

It would seem to me that from most to least safe would be protected bike lane, non-protected bike lane, and then no bike lane. Considering that even in Center City, 90% of the streets have no bike lanes, what are you practically advocating for?

(Serious question, not trolling or anything.)

The flexible white posts that are currently used are technically 'protected', but obviously do nothing if a car/delivery truck actually drive over them. Green paint and flimsy infrastructure aren't providing any safety. You need fixed/immovable posts, or protective concrete barriers.

There's plenty of options Here's an example in Chicago These would act as speed bumps too if a speeding car did cross over, instead of hitting a biker with enough speed to throw someone 10's of feet into the air and knock their helmet off their head.

You could add planters to enhance the aesthetics of the street while still keeping it safe

[Broadcastthatboom]

Originally Posted by Gatorade_Jim

A connected, safe bike network. Most immediately that means a concrete curb to protect the bike lanes on Spruce and Pine. Alternatively, reconfiguring the layout and moving the travel lane to the right side with parking on the left and the bike lane to the left of that with curb separation works too (just like they do it in DC). We're years behind other cities here. DC, NYC, Chicago, LA, and Boston all have miles and miles of curb protected bike lanes. Even Pittsburgh has a curb protected lane. We have none. It's embarrassing.

Exactly, all of this. We aren't creating complex, never-been-done construction and traffic projects. These things are done with EASE in plenty of other cities. It's not that the Philly government can't do it, they don't care about it.