Four Plans For Philly’s Iconic LOVE Park Presented

LOVE Park is getting a new fountain, lots of lawn space, gardens, and a food-truck area. The question is, What goes where?

The design team working on the $15 million renovation of JFK Plaza presented four designs to the community at a meeting Tuesday at the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

The four plans, presented by Mary Margaret Jones, president of the project’s lead architectural firm, Hargreaves Associates, include all the same elements but vary in layout.

The two greener proposals feature square-shaped lawns and sitting areas within the rectangle-shaped park. A third and fourth proposal involve slightly smaller lawns but more walking space and a pathway cutting through the park that would align with the LOVE statue and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Jones said the plans combined feedback from more than 1,000 people who attended meetings, e-mailed, or tweeted.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20150325_Four_plans_for_LOVE_Park_presented.html#z5JxfZG7uwgvRAMl.99

Lancaster Central Market 125th Anniversary Video

Presentation For Dilworth Plaza Public Art

Online Survey Will Help Redesign Downtown Hazleton

Downtown Hazleton, PA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hazleton residents can help remodel the downtown by voting in a survey for their favorite style of banners, buildings, crosswalks, lights, landscaping, benches and bike racks.

They will find the survey at http://www.derckandedson.com/hazleton through the end of September. Photos show examples, and residents can click a thumbs-up for the styles they like.

Derck and Edson, a design firm in Lititz, Lancaster County, posted the survey after winning a commission to write a strategic plan for the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress.

Read more: http://standardspeaker.com/news/online-survey-will-help-redesign-downtown-1.1739962

Lancaster City Hall Addition Expected To Bring Greater Efficiency To Government

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Lancaster County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Architect Bruce Evans’ charge in designing a City Hall addition was to create space that would help Lancaster city employees work more efficiently and be better able to serve the public.

From his own experience, Evans knew the inefficiency and frustration of taking plans to City Hall for review by city building officials, then having to take them to fire inspectors in Southern Market Center, four blocks away. Sometimes, he then would have to return to City Hall.

When the 18,000-square-foot addition to City Hall is complete, the city’s housing, building and fire code inspectors will work together in the same office. Plans can be reviewed simultaneously in shared meeting spaces.

Similarly, on the floor above, planners from the city Economic Development & Neighborhood Revitalization departments will be grouped with Public Works staffers, who oversee the impact of those plans on the city’s public spaces.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/903017_Lancaster-City-Hall-addition-expected-to-bring-greater-efficiency-to-government.html#ixzz2h3fTg310

Changing Skyline: Pop-Up Parks Perk Up Dull Philly Spots

Need a quick getaway? May I suggest a stroll over to South Broad Street?  Look for the opening in the crape myrtles, follow the juniper-lined path down to the grove, then take a seat in one of the vintage patio chairs, grab a beer, and settle in with a book.  You might actually mistake the whoosh of city traffic for the lapping of waves.

It seems only right that an instant vacation should be held in an instant space.

The hideaway in question is the latest addition to Philadelphia’s growing collection of pop-up parks, an increasingly popular and low-cost way for cities to carve out green retreats amid the crowded hardscape desert.  This one is brought to you by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and, to be honest, it’s not really hidden.  It’s right there across from the Kimmel Center, between Spruce and Pine Streets.  It just feels as if it were a world away.

You could similarly indulge your escapist fantasies at the Porch, alongside 30th Street Station; at the University City District’s new Baltimore Avenue plaza; or at Eakins Oval.  As of Thursday, the interior of that glorified traffic circle has been outfitted with Parisian-style cafe tables and christened, “The Oval.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/home/20130712_Changing_Skyline__Pop-up_parks_perk_up_dull_city_spots.html#ksoDsGsIAxUBwmd8.99

Pennsylvania’s Smoking Ban Turns Two Saturday

Image via Wikipedia

It has been two years since Pennsylvania banned smoking in public places.  The Clean Indoor Air Act is enforced by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Department of Health.  The number of citations and warning letters has dropped statewide at eating and drinking establishments, during the first six months of 2010, per PA State Police Captain Thomas Butler.

Based on a survey in the Harrisburg area, it appears this ban has had little impact on the restaurant and bar business nor has the ban caused many people to quit smoking.  Some business owners were initially worried that the ban might negatively impact sales.  However, this has not appeared to be the case according the business owners surveyed.