Philadelphia 2035 (Sandy, Houston, Ernest: toilet, incidents, buy)

[Muinteoir]

^^I agree with you guys. Changing Center City parking would require incremental steps, but it should be done. There's no excuse to prioritize parking over bike lanes when every subway and rail line stops in Center City. But as Sandy pointed out, it will take some time to de-prioritize cars in the city.

[skintreesnail]

I agree, the city needs to rework how they handle the streets. There are a lot of bikers in the city now and it would make it safer for everyone to accommodate them. This means having a robust bike lane network, but also stepping up enforcement of rules for bikes and improving signals at intersections. So much of our streets infrastructure seems like its built for life in the 70s or something. European cities have narrow streets and still include bike lanes. I know it's easier said than done and you need to consider emergency vehicles, traffic volume, etc., but it's not impossible and there's supposed to be $$ for it anyway as part of vision zero (which i know is kind of a joke currently). Some of the streets in CC that are currently 2 lanes are basically treated like 1 lane by drivers anyway, like 21st and 19th. I feel like the extra lane just creates confusion in some cases, since half the drivers seem like they don't know what they're supposed to do. And if you're spending brain power wondering if its one or two lanes, or if there's enough space to get around the car in front of you, you're more likely to hit some biker or pedestrian.

[MarketStEl]

Frankly, cpomp's modification to what we proposed makes a lot of sense:

Designate a space or spaces in the existing parking lanes as loading zones only during daytime hours. One space per residential block should do it. (Or two, to accommodate larger delivery vans.)

ISTR the PPA actually implemented a policy on Walnut and Chestnut streets that reserved the parking lanes for commercial deliveries only in the early morning hours, or something like that. Or maybe it was a ban on commercial deliveries after 10 am; I forget which it was, but it was designed to get deliveries out of the way of other traffic.

[cpomp]

Tonight was Diner en Blanc at Logan Circle.

I unfortunately stumbled upon a garbage article from Ernest Owens today... He is more miserable and bitter than ever... He happily attended in years past, and now claims the event is elitist and apparently racist, even though the crowd appeared diverse on the news.

If one doesn't like the event, don't go. Why slander it and call thousands of attendees wannabe elitists? Especially when he is the saddest wannabe elitist in this city. I would have critiqued him personally, but he blocked my email and social media, he can dish but can't take.

And Sandy, Mr. U Penn still can't get it right, his quote... This is still the poorest big city in America

Anyways, OT, but figured I'd share for a laugh and some trash talk.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2022/...lanc-10-years/

[cpomp]

Back on topic, some huge economic news...

New weekly Asia route touted as 'biggest thing that's happened to the Port of Philadelphia in decades'

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=0#cxrecs_s

For the first time, the Port of Philadelphia now has a direct, weekly link to Asia's economy as it launches the Wan Hei Lines' Asia — America 9 Service.

The route has a transit time of 35 days and gives Philadelphia access to ports along Asia's Eastern Coast. It makes stops at Haiphong, Vietnam; Shekou (Shenzhen), Shanghai and Qingdao, China; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; and Balboa, Panama, before coming to the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal in South Philadelphia. It's expected to create 720 jobs (157 of which will be at PhilaPort), over $194 million in economic impact and $7.2 million in state and local taxes per year.

Sean Mahoney, the port's director of marketing, said the new service is "the biggest thing that's happened to the Port of Philadelphia in decades" in terms of expanding capacity.

Port officials believe the new route will have a hand in decongesting port traffic along the East Coast, giving shippers a more efficient option than going through larger, more congested ports like New York. Mahoney used the example that a shipper with a distribution center in South Jersey looking to move goods to Asia can have a trucker make five trips between the center and the Port of Philadelphia in the time it would take them to make one to New York.

[Tweb66]

Oh, I think that is a big deal. We seriously lack good paying jobs that don't require a college degree but a growing port will, and has, produced them. I was bummed to see the oil refinery being redeveloped as just warehouses but if that makes the port grow in return, maybe there is some synergy.

[Tweb66]

BTW, with Domb resigning, presumably to run for mayor, time for a politics thread?


On a separate note, for the last 10 years I've either been represented by Pam DeLessio or Chuck Rabb and both constantly call me and their voicemail started like 10 seconds into their message. You know how long it took for me to figure out who was leaving the message? Seems like something they should fix.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by Tweb66

Oh, I think that is a big deal. We seriously lack good paying jobs that don't require a college degree but a growing port will, and has, produced them. I was bummed to see the oil refinery being redeveloped as just warehouses but if that makes the port grow in return, maybe there is some synergy.

Very important. And I'm hopeful the refinery redevelopment will produce more than just warehouse, Hilco has invested a lot in the project. I mentioned on another site that Philadelphia still remains near the bottom for income stats and poverty. Yet there is a constant cry for affordable housing by Council members (like Jamie Gauthier). Affordable housing is needed, but not the underlying issue IMO.

Philadelphia needs economic opportunities for residents without degrees, but that would require real work from Council. It's easier to blame gentrification and place the affordable housing burden on developers. Meanwhile the city owns thousands of dilapidated properties all over the city.

[MB1562]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Tonight was Diner en Blanc at Logan Circle.

I unfortunately stumbled upon a garbage article from Ernest Owens today... He is more miserable and bitter than ever... He happily attended in years past, and now claims the event is elitist and apparently racist, even though the crowd appeared diverse on the news.

If one doesn't like the event, don't go. Why slander it and call thousands of attendees wannabe elitists? Especially when he is the saddest wannabe elitist in this city. I would have critiqued him personally, but he blocked my email and social media, he can dish but can't take.

And Sandy, Mr. U Penn still can't get it right, his quote... This is still the poorest big city in America

Anyways, OT, but figured I'd share for a laugh and some trash talk.

https://www.phillymag.com/news/2022/...lanc-10-years/

What a bunch of whiney garbage. He comes off as a generally miserable person in just about every article he writes.

[thedirtypirate]

Ernest Owen’s journalism essentially amounts to an opinionated version of TMZ, if the host of TMZ was a miserably sad narcissist lol. Sorry, not sorry. I have read enough of his stories for a lifetime already.