We already have (and promote) a walkable community. However, the traffic volumes on Old York Road stand to erode our downtown’s last vestiges of charm. Because no one wants to walk on Old York, no business that relies upon foot traffic will establish themselves there. It will all become about setbacks and allowances for parking. At a late November city council meeting, local officials voted 4-1 to impose a six-month […]
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Walking Away
We have made our case. Either the citizens of Jenkintown will accept and embrace the concept of public responsibility for public assets, or it will continue to allow the status quo to molder on and degrade our walkable environment. The facts are these: The public financing of roads but not of sidewalks amounts to a subsidy for automobile usage. In an age of climate change and an obesity epidemic, it […]
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Jenkintown 2035: Wishing and hoping and planning
The Jenkintown 2035 Visioning Workshop turned out an impressive attendance last Thursday night, which included several Borough Council members, Mayor Ed Foley, and Jenkintown Borough Manager George Locke. The overall group seemed to represent a cross-section of Jenkintown society that didn’t have to commute long distances to and from work. For anyone who’s never attended these exercises, think of it as a big brainstorming session. Organizers distribute the attendees into […]
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This could be Old York Road, Jenkintown
This video comes from our new friends at Strongtowns.org, an organization that we recommend for everyone in Jenkintown and in Jenkintown Borough Hall.
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Jenkintown responds with shock and awe
No one much likes bureaucracies, except maybe those who work in them. Bureaucrats have the tendency to do most anything to justify their existence, whether or not their role has any real value to the society for which they serve. “My job here is done,” said no government official ever. In a local government, this manifests itself in several ways, but mainly through all the extra fees paid for services […]
Policy
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Jenkintown Congestion = Jenkintown Revival
For automobile flooding (congestion), the only way to deal with it and still have a successful economy is to address it at the source. We need to absorb those trips locally before they become a flood. Instead of building lanes, we need to be building corner stores. We need local economic ecosystems that create jobs, opportunity and destinations for people as an alternative to those they can only get to […]
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Jenkintown Centennial Parade 1974
For anyone too young to remember Old York Road when it served as an actual, pleasantly walkable main street, we offer this video taken by Louise’s mom, Claire Eccarius. When Jenkintown celebrated its centennial in 1974, they closed off Old York Road and held a parade! Louise’s father appears at the tail end of the video, but long-time Jenkintonians will likely recognize some of the more prominent figures of the […]
Policy
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Old York Road in Jenkintown 2035
On October 29, Montgomery County will hold the Jenkintown 2035 Workshop that calls for us “to join the conversation with fellow residents, businesses, and lovers of Jenkintown to help shape the future of the Borough.” They call this “visioning”. Officials stage these workshops because they apply a veneer of public input on the planning process. Historically they arose as a response to the bad old days of Robert Moses and the urban destruction wrought by our Interstate Highway […]
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If at first you screw up…
Around 2008 or so, Jenkintown Borough embarked on a round of construction to make its sidewalk corners compliant with ADA regulations. We remember when the corners at West and Walnut and several in the commercial district were rebuilt. And then, the Borough did them again. We wish we had inquired earlier why the Borough found it necessary to spend even more tax dollars to redo the work. Perhaps someone forgot […]
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Statement before tonight’s Jenkintown Borough Council
As the Lorax does for the trees, I come to speak for the sidewalks. Understand that I have spent the last few months giving myself a crash course on civics as it applies to this borough and state. So I have asked a lot of questions. There are many things about Pennsylvania that distinguishes it — for better and for worse — but with regards to pedestrian infrastructure, I, like […]
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Jenkintown Council Meeting Tonight: Show Your Concern
Another last Monday of the month, another Jenkintown Borough Council meeting! If you support getting better sidewalks for Jenkintown and a more equitable way to pay for them, please join Louise and me to express your concerns. Council does not think you care how they’re doing this. Please show them they’re wrong. The meeting starts promptly at 7:30 tonight at Jenkintown Borough Hall.
Policy
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The Multi-Modal Fund and Jenkintown
As part of Pennsylvania’s major gas tax hikes instituted a few years ago, a portion of the money collected goes into PennDOT’s Multi-Modal Fund. According to their website: The Multimodal Transportation Fund provides grants to encourage economic development and ensure that a safe and reliable system of transportation is available to the residents of the commonwealth. […] Funds may be used for the development, rehabilitation and enhancement of transportation assets to […]