North Broad Street has seen an explosion of development in
recent years with new housing and restaurants. Now it's getting some new lights
and landscaping.
The lights are an exciting way to link North Philadelphia
and Center City, said Margaret Carney, the Temple University architect and vice
president for campus planning and design.
They're also attractive, she said.
"The light masts are beautiful stainless steel elements
which will be mounted along Broad Street in a central median strip, a concrete
median strip," she said.
The lights will extend from Glenwood Avenue to Spring
Garden. Carney said the tall, slender light masts will draw the eye up Broad
Street and help people realize that North Philly isn't that far from City Hall.
"They have a decorative pattern within the metal that
allows light from inside the mast to be projected outward, she said. "So
they have a beautiful sort of glow to them at night."
The lights and the landscaping are about more than just
making the street look nice, said Paul Beideman, president of Avenue of the
Arts Incorporated. "The public environment is really very important to
economic growth and to image and to safety of residents," he said.
Beideman hopes the project will support the momentum that's
already improving North Broad.
"On North Broad right now, there's a tremendous amout
of new growth and development occurring, which I think is really
exciting," he said. "And what this project does is bring something
that's certainly going to connect those neighborhoods in that area."
Construction on the $14 million project should begin within
the next few months.
Source: Newsworks.org
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