Hill bike tour partners thanked

“The Bike the Hill” event on Sunday, April 17, was a fantastic opportunity for people to tour the historic and natural offerings of the Chestnut Hill area. A partnership between SEPTA, the Chestnut Hill Business District, the Chestnut Hill Historical Society, and Friends of the Wissahickon, the bike-centric event was created to help commuters travel to parts of Philadelphia outside of Center City, and explore the unique offerings of our city's neighborhoods.

On behalf of the organizations that partnered in the event, I want to thank SEPTA for playing a pivotal role in helping to connect Philadelphians with the treasures of Northwest Philadelphia. Systemwide, SEPTA recognizes the critical role it plays in encouraging cycle-transit use. As bicycle ridership in Philadelphia has grown three-fold in 20 years, SEPTA knows that by supporting bicycle use for recreation and for transportation, the benefits to the region are huge. In just a short regional rail ride, Philadelphia residents have access to thousands of acres of green space around the region – and we look forward to increasing our shared vision in giving city residents the opportunity to get out and explore the various natural areas our region has to offer.

SEPTA recently was awarded the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for its success in reducing power consumption through cutting-edge technology. We commend SEPTA for its dedication and investment in the environmental health of the Greater Philadelphia Region.

Maura McCarthy

Executive Director

Friends of the Wissahickon

Thanks for support for Annual Meeting

On behalf of the proud board of directors and the Chestnut Hill Community Association (CHCA) staff, we wanted to thank the 100 people who attended the Annual Meeting and Community Supper last Thursday, and, of course, those who continue to support us throughout the year.

I’d like to personally thank those who helped to make it such an enjoyable evening: guest speakers Thaddeus Squire from CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia and State Sen. Art Haywood; Tavern on the Hill and Brewers Outlet for donating soft drinks, and the CHCA board of directors for providing wine and preparing so many delicious entrees, appetizers and desserts that were enjoyed by all. A special thanks to Norwood-Fontbonne Academy for generously providing their meeting space.

The evening featured special recognitions to outstanding community members and businesses for their work in Chestnut Hill throughout the year. These included, John Falco, recipient of the Chestnut Hill Award; Abby and Ron Pete, recipients of the Meritorious Service Award; Caroline Haussermann, recipient of the Distinguished Service Award, and law firm Pepper Hamilton, recipient of the Benefactor's Award.

A slideshow of photos from the evening can be found at www.chestnuthill.org.

Ryan Rosenbaum

CHCA Executive Director

Jenks ramp has no clear benefit for its students

My wife and I have lived on the 8300 block of Ardleigh Street for almost seven years now. We came to find out about the proposed ramp project at Jenks by speaking with a surveyor who was already far into the planning process. We were immediately alarmed for the following reasons:

The schoolyard is filled with children every nice day and we really enjoy their presence and energy.

We are aware of how much deferred maintenance there is at Jenks, both inside and out, and wondered how available finances were secured for a project that would negatively affect the children and their space to enjoy themselves.

We are concerned about traffic flow in and out of the schoolyard and how it will affect the children in school as well as the basketball courts which are used extensively throughout the week.

We then began a conversation around the neighborhood, on the 8300 block of Ardleigh, with the Chestnut Hill Community Association and with the Philadelphia School District. It soon became apparent that there was no well-defined need for the ramp, as we were beginning to get varying stories even within the school district itself.

It was first presented as an emergency vehicle ramp to service the school. We looked into the feasibility of that and found that Ardleigh Street would not provide the necessary turning radius required for such an entry point and that in order to do so we would have to lose valuable parking spots on an already crowded residential street.

We also found that the concrete and underlying grounds on the schoolyard would not support the weight of such vehicles without continued damage to the grounds, bringing on continued maintenance costs beyond the district’s capabilities of absorption. We have also been informed that the “emergency vehicle” explanation was tabled because it would cause other schools in the district to seek such funds and that the funds were simply not available.

We were then told by Danielle Floyd as well as the school itself that it would intended to be a delivery ramp for vendors of the school so that deliveries would not be left at the foot of the stairs. Upon further discussion with folks inside of the school it appears that even if the delivery trucks could go up and down that ramp it would still not provide for a logical delivery point for packages and would certainly not alleviate the frustration of packages being left outside if the delivery times did not all coincide with the functioning hours of the school and its staff.

We as neighbors expressed a deep concern for what obviously is intended to be a parking lot and were told by the school district, in numerous emails, that it would not be used as a parking lot. We were told the gates would be locked and only opened in the case of an emergency or delivery. Upon further discussions with folks inside of the school district it was made very clear that the sole intention of the ramp is to facilitate a parking lot for teachers and ultimately, another parking lot for shoppers and merchants.

It is important to note that we on the 8300 block of Ardleigh Street have been feeling the parking crunch for some time now. It began to drive us so nuts that we applied for residential parking permits. Furthermore, without speaking to one person inside of Jenks, we opted to only apply for permit parking after 4 p.m. We did so as to protect the ability of the teachers to have convenient parking when they come to work. We as neighbors oftentimes park one block away when we return from work or errands because we have opted to have the wonderful teachers at Jenks be a part of our block and our community.

We feel at this point we have been told nothing but lies and that the children are not the ones being taken into consideration first while reckless spending continues on within the school district.

Is there one person in this community that can say to us with a straight face that this $434,000 ramp project is intended to benefit the students of John Story Jenks? Subsequently, please explain what that benefit is and how the other numerous issues at the school have taken less of a priority. Also, what unethical things are taking place that require the school district, employed by the taxpayers of Philadelphia, to repeatedly lie to the folks that keep them employed?

Chris Lux

Chestnut Hill