Newsletter: 🗳️ Election Next Week / ⚖️ Balancing Preservation and Development / 💰 Testify on the City's Budget

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 275 🗳️ ELECTION NEXT WEEK Election Day is NEXT TUESDAY, April 23rd. Make sure to turn in your mail-in ballot on-time or make a plan to show up to your polling place Continue reading

Newsletter: 🍽️ Streetery Showdown / 🚇 Help Out with Blvd Subway Advocacy / 🏫 Support Student SEPTA Passes

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 274 🍽️ STREETERY SHOWDOWN Remember streeteries? After first proliferating during the peak of the pandemic as a safer alternative to indoor dining, they have been steadily going extinct. These dynamic public spaces which repurposed our streets for a more productive use than parking have shrank in number from more than 800 at their peak to only 13 today. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🗳️ Our Ballot Guide / 🚨 Register to Vote by Monday / 🤝 Candidate Meet and Greet Recap

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 273 🗳️ OUR BALLOT GUIDE Mail-in ballots are starting to arrive so we want to help you figure out how to fill yours out. This election, we are endorsing the following candidates: Continue reading

April Fools!

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 272½ // April 1, 2024 Thank you for reading our April Fools Newsletter, if you aren't already a newsletter subscriber, sign up here!  All of these news items are satire, but obviously, with a kernel of truth touching on systemic issues with Philadelphia's broken political process and the way its affects our built environment and its residents. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🤝 Candidate Meet and Greet Next Week / 🏗️ Legalizing Housing in All of PA / 🙄 Lessons from the "Poop Building"

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 272  🤝 CANDIDATE MEET AND GREET NEXT WEEK We will be hosting a candidate meet & greet on Tuesday, April 2nd at 6 PM, at Indy Hall in Northern Liberties. We will be welcoming the following endorsed candidates running for State Senate and State House in the upcoming primary: Continue reading

Newsletter: ✅ Announcing Our Endorsements / 🚌 Show up to Support Bus Revolution / 🛣️ Lessons From Washington Avenue

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 271 ✅ ANNOUNCING OUR ENDORSEMENTS 5th Square is proud to announce its endorsement for the following candidates for the 2024 Pennsylvania primary elections: Continue reading

Primary Endorsements - 2024 PA State Legislature Races

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFriday, March 15, 2024 5th Square is proud to announce its endorsement for the following candidates for the 2024 Pennsylvania primary elections. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🪡 Chinatown Stich Funded / 🚉 Support Transit Funding This Monday / 🤝 Candidate Meet and Greet

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 270 🪡 CHINATOWN STICH FUNDED For more than half a century, Chinatown has been split down the middle by I-676, separating neighbors with a pollution-spewing expressway. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🗳️ Vote on 5th Square Endorsements / 🎥 Choose Speed Camera Locations / 💰 Advocate for Transit Funding

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 269 🗳️ VOTE ON 5TH SQUARE ENDORSEMENTS 5th Square members are currently voting on who we will endorse for the upcoming election. If you're not already a member, it's not too late to become one and have a say in this election cycle. Current members should check their emails for details on how to vote. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🗳️ Getting Ready for the Election / 🧊 Philly Phreeze Recap / 🚅 Transportation Camp PHL

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 268 🗳️ GETTING READY FOR THE ELECTION There's an election coming up again and 5th Square is getting ready for it. Our members will be deciding which candidates we will endorse and we want you to join us as a member. Continue reading

Newsletter: 👕 New Blvd Subway Shirts! / 🧊 Thank You for Supporting Philly Phreeze / 🚇 New L Cars

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 267 👕 NEW BLVD SUBWAY SHIRTS We are excited to announce that we are releasing a new design for our Roosevelt Blvd Subway t-shirts. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🚌 Support Bus Revolution / 🚗 Philadelphians Ditching Their Cars / 🗳️ Apply for Mail-In Ballot

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 266 🚌 SUPPORT BUS REVOLUTION Buses are a vital lifeline for getting folks around Philly, with many neighborhoods completely reliant on this service being fast, frequent, and reliable. Continue reading

Press Release: Bus Revolution Delay

5th Square is providing the following press release in reaction to the recent Delay in Implementing Bus Revolution February 13, 2024For Immediate Release PHILADELPHIA -- 5th Square Chair Steph Davis said, “SEPTA is in a moment of crisis. The bus system is not working even for our deeply-rooted communities. The insidious failures of the current system outweigh any potential shortcomings of an intentional bus network redesign with the Bus Revolution. Council can address underfunding, but without the Bus Revolution we cannot respond to the operator shortage while adapting to the changing needs of riders.  Continue reading

Newsletter: ⚖️ Streets Dept Reorganization / 🧊 Philly Phreeze 2024 / 🚘 Expanded Traffic Calming Eligibility

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 265 ⚖️ STREETS DEPT REORGANIZATION Mayor Parker just announced that she will split the Streets Department into two separate departments. Continue reading

Press Release: New Streets Dept Commissioner

5th Square is providing the following press release in reaction to Mayor Parker’s creation and appointment of Streets Commissioner  February 5, 2024For Immediate Release PHILADELPHIA -- 5th Square Chair Steph Davis says, “For far too long, Philadelphia has combined transportation operations with sanitation in the Streets Department. Consequently, transportation priorities are subsumed by the larger sanitation operations in terms of budget and staffing.” Continue reading

Newsletter: 💸 SEPTA Funding Progress / 🏠 76 Homes or 11 Duplexes with Parking? / 🔍 Investigating the Rise in Traffic Collisions

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 264 💸 SEPTA FUNDING PROGRESS Good news! Governor Shapiro has announced that he plans to direct $282 million in sales tax revenue to SEPTA and other PA transit agencies. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🚨 Stop I-95 Expansion / 🛣️ Right-of-Way Roundtable Friday / 🧭 Volunteer Orientation Monday

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 263 🚨 STOP I-95 EXPANSION PennDOT is planning to expand I-95 in Center City and South Philly by adding lanes and new ramps. This will threaten the well-being of our neighborhoods by worsening air quality, increasing noise pollution, and harming our access to the waterfront. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🚇 Transit Funding Cliff / 📈 The Cause of Expensive Housing / 📖 Weekend Library Hours / 🛣️ Right-of-Way Roundtable

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 262 🚇 TRANSIT FUNDING CLIFF As NBC10 reports, SEPTA is exploring rate hike and service cuts, as ‘death spiral' looms Continue reading

Act 40 is not the solution to our Region’s Transit Woes

"For years, we have known about the impending transit funding cliff facing SEPTA and other agencies across our Commonwealth. Without help from Harrisburg, riders in our region will face massive service cuts and fare increases in the coming months. Stranding thousands of riders, worsening traffic congestion, and hampering Pennsylvania’s economic recovery from COVID", says 5th Square Chair, Steph Davis. Continue reading

Newsletter: 🏙️ Future of Cities Conference / 🚲 Become an Indego Ambassador / 🛣️ Car-Free MLK Drive

Weekly Newsletter, Issue 261 🏙️ FUTURE OF CITIES CONFERENCE The University of Pennsylvania, with 5th Square as a partner, will be hosting its 2024 Future of Cities Conference. Continue reading