With so much going on around town. Catch up on what you may have missed.
It’s Friday, July 12. Welcome to the weekend. We made it. Rain is gone for now. Development updates this week on the Daily Local site, the Agway site and a first look at what’s planned for Rubenstein’s. Also, what to do if you see a spotted lanternfly and borough officials give up the bottled water. Grab your stainless steel reusable water bottle and let’s get started.
Flooding downtown. Large areas of the Borough were flooded Friday night including much of the area east of the West Chester Railroad Station. Multiple streets were closed and traffic backed up along Gay Street as cars and SUVs tried the navigate the submerged street. At least two cars were spotted stranded and awaiting police rescue as water reached above door height. The weather also led to the canceling of the scheduled Swinging Thursday’s event.
What will happen to Rubinsteins? If you’ve been curious about what is slated for the West Market lot, we now have our first official clues. In a sketch plan reviewed by the Smart Growth committee this week, developers have proposed a three-story apartment complex (plus one-story of parking) that will run the length of the block from Market to Bernard Streets. See for yourself, here.
Speaking of developing developments, East Goshen Township reviewed traffic plans this week for the proposed townhouse development that will be built at the site of the former Daily Local (250 N. Bradford Ave.) The plans allow for cars to exit the complex and turn either left or right at Bradford Avenue and Route 162 near Ace. Raising concerns that this could be dangerous on these busy roads. Also, in front of townships this week, West Goshen Township reviewed a final land development plan to build a 205-unit apartment complex at 956 S. Matlack St. (the Agway site).
Spotted lanternfly spotted. Appearing bright red with white spots or brown with black spots these insects that have been terrorizing grape crops all along the southeast part of the state and they have now been identified in at least one West Chester garden. If you find any on your property notify badbug@pa.gov (awesome email address btw) and then follow Penn State Extension’s advice for homeowner management.
Can’t we all just get along? After the announcement of a massive new Science and Engineering Center took some residents and town officials by surprise, West Chester, West Goshen and West Chester University agreed to work together to create an overlay district. The plan according the West Goshen township website would include, “boundaries for growth, transportation planning, parking planning and the creation of a Master Site Plan.” The zoning plan includes strict boundaries to ensure “the maximum density for the future development” and limit campus spread but so much to keep all West Chester properties out of the reach of WCU expansion.
Also, requested from the University as part of the plan are updated projections on enrollment, housing, transportation and parking. You can see the Planned University Campus District here.
No more bottled water for Borough employees. In a move to save money, Borough offices are leaving behind the water cooler. Borough Manager Mike Perrone told the Daily Local News that since fountains and chillers were installed as part of the renovations offering bottled water as well is redundant. The move will reportedly save the Borough $6,000 per year.
The warnings. Sometimes it’s the path less taken for a reason. West Chester Area Police are reminding residents and late-night guests the beautiful mural outside Kildare’s is that a mural. Please exit to the right.
Also, Kyle and his friends will be playing a brief concert tonight from 8 to roughly 9 p.m. on E. Gay Street. They ask that you please don’t call the cops.
“Andiario may be the undisputed pasta superstar of West Chester – and rightfully so. But dolce Zola is most certainly in the mix.”
– Ken Alan, Main Line Today
The accolades. Congratulations to dolce Zola, the Italian BYOB, who’s homemade pastas and “semolina-enriched greatness” earned it a glowing profile on Main Line Today.
Goodbye. Sadly, we are saying goodbye this week to Hybrid Cycles, Electric Bikes. The E. Gay Street bike store has been in business for a decade. Brightside, if you’re in need of a bike they are holding a going-out-of-business sale through the end of the month. Also, saying goodbye, is Christopher Cromwell to his job as a math specialist at Fugett Middle School and instead he is saying,
Hello, to a new position as Instructional Technology Coordinator. He will be joining current coordinators, Dr. Mary Beth Clifton and Jennifer Southmayd. The new role with allow the School District to broaden their efforts to integrate meaningful technology in the classroom. (If you are not familiar with their efforts so far, take a look they are pretty impressive.) We are also, saying hello, this week to Paige Merten who will be joining the Huskey family as the new principal of Hillsdale Elementary. If the name sounds familiar, Merten has been with WCASD for the past 16 years, most recently as an assistant principal at Stetson Middle School.
Finally, the borough is planning to say hi to a new electric vehicle charging station. For those who have or are considering an electric vehicle, the Parking Committee is looking at the Bicentennial Garage for its new charging station. And before you say it, West Chester received a grant to fund the project.
The freakin’ weekend. Welcome to the weekend. We made it. What are you up to? We have a birthday party and with temps in the upper 80s and sunny, I foresee some pool time in our future. Also, this –
Starting at 5 p.m. on Saturday, West Chester University has a free-all evening event commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing and Neil Armstrong’s moon walk, including a talk and Q & A with a NASA engineer on the project, viewings of the full-dome movie Apollo 11: Man’s First Steps on the Moon in Mather Planetarium and numerous space/rocket-themed crafts for kids of all ages.
Sounds so cool. Hope we can get out act together to get there.
Mark your calendars:
- 50th anniversary celebration Apollo 11 moon landing, West Chester University Mather Planetarium, July 13
- Magic Bus, tribute to the Who, Uptown!, July 13
- Free Music at Marshall, Marshall Square Park, July 18
- Criterions Jazz Ensemble Alumni Reunion Concert (free), Emilie K. Asplundh Concert Hall, July 18
- Happy Hour on the Terrace, Game of Thrones edition, West Chester Library, July 19
- 25th Anniversary Celebration Event, West Chester Growers Market, July 20
- Turks Head Music Festival, Everhart Park, July 21
That’s it for this week. Thank you for stopping by. I hope everyone is enjoying lazy summer days. If you were out of town for the fourth here is last week’s Roundup and if you haven’t heard West Chester will be holding a hearing on their single-use plastic ban next week. You can get up to speed with where that stands here.
And as always, if you’re not following yet, please do. I’d love to have you.