Philly Saturday 1.21
 

I'm thinking of heading down for a little recon tomorrow.

locals: could I get a little rundown on layout, shops, conditions?

what do you mean by layout? shops meaning LBSs? there was a thread about philly lbs's in early january. As for conditions i believe the forecast is unseasonably warm (50s) and while it said rain on saturday, the radar pictures i have show now precipitation east of the mississippi

just wanted to get the word on what the streets there are like - how the city breaks down into sections, neighborhoods, etc.

I'll look for the LBS thread. rain or no rain, I'll probably still head down to check out the city (probably won't have much time to take in the sights tho)

I pulled the following descriptions of some temple student's website. I'm not endorsing the descriptions or whatever but with a quick glance at it, theres a run down of a bunch of neighborhoods. I'm trying to track down the "neighborhoods map" which may help to show where these places are.... But since i'm a few years out of school i don't have all my maps an data at the touch of a finger anymore (urban planning major had much of this at my fingertips)...


Center City

Center City is the name of Philadelphia’s downtown area. It is home to many office towers, museums and cultural institutions, tourist attractions, restaurants and shopping areas. Center City has several historic neighborhoods, including Logan Square, Chinatown, Old City, Rittenhouse Square, Washington Square West, Society Hill, Bella Vista, Queen Village, and Center City West (or Graduate Hospital area). The apartments in this area are usually more expensive than in other neighborhoods, although you can occasionally find a bargain. There are many public transportation options in this area as well. These neighborhoods are convenient to Temple University.


University City

University City is situated within the area known as West Philadelphia. The University City area is home to the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel university, many cultural institutions, cultural events, and a large number of restaurants. University City has many advantages when you are trying to decide on a place to rent: affordable prices, large apartments, wonderful restaurants, lots of green space, parks where you can jog and walk your dog, plenty of places that allow you to have pets, street parking, walking distance to school/work, good public transportation to/from Center City and other areas of Greater Philadelphia.



Fairmount/Art Museum Area



Fairmount is a neighborhood in the Art Museum area of the city. It is located just northwest of Center City. It borders the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and Fairmount Park, which is the largest urban park in the world. Many people choose to live in this neighborhood as an alternative to Center City. It has many restaurants, and it is convenient to Center City and Temple University. Apartment rental rates are reasonable.



South Philadelphia

South Philadelphia is the area south of Center City along Broad Street. Composed of many working class neighborhoods, South Philly is well connected to the rest of Philadelphia via the subway and bus routes. It is convenient to Temple as well as to many shopping areas. Rental fees in South Philadelphia are very reasonable.



East Falls

East Falls is only about 10 minutes from Center City. Its close proximity to the downtown area makes it an inexpensive alternative to Center City living. East Falls is connected to Center City by Kelly Drive, a scenic road that winds beside the Schuylkill River. East Falls is also convenient to Temple University via Septa’s regional rail line.


Roxborough/ Manayunk

The Roxborough and Manayunk neighborhoods are two of the oldest in the city. Once thriving industrial centers, these neighborhoods have big, old houses that often contain several apartments. Center City, as well as Temple University, are close by and easily accessible by public transportation. Manayunk’s Main Street is a popular eating and shopping destination that hosts several festivals during the year.



West Mt. Airy

West Mt. Airy is a unique community of tree-lined streets, close to parks, with a mixture of large homes, row houses and apartment complexes. West Mt. Airy is recognized as a model of a successfully integrated community where people from various backgrounds live together peacefully. Mt. Airy is in the Northwest part of the city, and it is connected to Center City and Temple University by Septa’s regional rail lines. Apartments in this neighborhood are moderately priced.



West Germantown

Germantown is an historic neighborhood located Northwest of Center City. West Germantown borders Fairmount Park and is connected to Center City and Temple University by the regional rail system. Apartments in this neighborhood are moderately priced.



Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill is an historic neighborhood with a country village atmosphere. Located northwest of the city, Chestnut Hill’s tree-lined streets are home to a busy shopping area with many restaurants. Chestnut Hill is one of the most exclusive and expensive neighborhoods in Philadelphia. It is accessible to Center City and Temple University via Septa’s regional rail line.



Northeast Philadelphia

The Northeast is almost a city by itself, but it feels more like a suburb. It is composed of many different, small neighborhoods. The Northeast is the newer part of the city: the houses are more modern and the streets are wider than those found in other parts of the city. There are many shopping malls and stores in this area also. Apartments in the Northeast are reasonably priced, however, from some points in this area it can take as long as one hour to get to Center City or Temple University. The Elevated train, or blue line, goes to this part of the city. In addition, there are many bus lines in this area.

http://www.seventy.org/maps/mapimages/neighbor.jpg

Sorry that there's no legend to the map and i don't remember what these shadings are from but hope this all helps. if you're doing recon for an alleycat, i'd suggest google earthing certain streets and asking specific bike street/ route related questions based on your experience this weekend and google earth

*edit* and to give scale,following the route i remember from high school, center city west to chestnut hill is about 13 miles one way. center city (river to river) is about 2.2 miles.

streets are on a grid system for the most part. (west philly has it's own strange grid going in many places.)

N/S is divided by market st.

(i.e. 126 N. 22nd would be north of market, 1234 S. 8th would be south of market...)

broad st. is the big guy that slices the heart of the city in half. there is no 14th street, broad is between 13th and 15th.

broad st. will easily take you to most destinations in center city/south philly via bike or subway. (orange line.)

market st. will easily take you to most destinations in west philly via bike or subway. (blue line).


alotta good shops, via (606 S. 9th st.) being my personal favorite. look in the phone book for shops if your trying to catch em' all?

good luck.

you might find this useful (it is really nice in paper format if you can find a copy).

http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/map/index.html

many thank you's for your help people, this is the stuff I was looking for.
much appreciated.

Watch out for trolley tracks- Philly's got em'

yo ch0mb0, http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...hlight=therapy
for the lbs that people like

don't leave your bike locked anywhere for too long.

Additionally, the N/S streets go up in number from east(front st or "1st st") to west

And yes... those damn trolley tracks on a rainy day have gotten me once or twice.

additionally, many philly drivers could give a **** if they hit you.

today some woman ran a red light and plowed into a cyclist on broad and spruce. she started freaking out and crying. i think(hope) he was ok. i couldn't really see.

Its bull**** how the drivers int eh city WAYYYY over anticipate the light going green. Ive never seen that anywhere else... but these fockers start to go before it even turns green at all. I saw 2 people in a row stop at the light, and wait till the other way turned red again, then they went. they BOTH went through a BLARING red light casue there was a slight delay. Ive also seen(on several occasions) people goign up broad street at night in the right only turning lane, make like theyre going to make a right on red and turn the wheel slightly only to turn back and go straight! what is that *****?

my favourite philly street law is the one that declares it totally valid to run a red light if you honk just before and while doing it. i saw the 10 trolley do it on lancaster av. so i know it's legit.

p.s. chombo comes from the mean streets of NYC. philly's not going to scare him, but philly should be scared of him and the rest of the NYC crew. one of us is going to win your race. heads up.