December 3: Velodrome for FDR Park | #PHL2015 and historic preservation | Origins of jaywalking

A group called Project 250 is proposed an Olympic-class indoor velodrome on a 4-acre parcel of FDR park.

Contruction contracts for the 11-county Philadelphia metro region are up 54% over a similar 10-month period last year, according to an analysis from McGraw Hill Construction.

Geoff Thompson wants to use jersey walls to put temporary protected bike lanes on the ground soon on JFK and Market, as a political downpayment on a more expensive permanent cycle track.

Via Liz Spikol, Business Insider describes Northern Liberties is an inexpensive bike-friendly neighborhood, begging the question of whether they’ve been to Northern Liberties.

Nathanial Popkin wants to know where the Mayoral candidates stand on historic preservation issues.

The American Heart Association chose Philly’s Convention Center for its 2019 convention. They expect it to generate about 51,000 hotel room nights and $62 million in economic impact.

Mikael Colville-Andersen’s latest post on a new German pedestrian shaming campaign references an interesting earlier item on the origins of the term “jaywalking” – apparently invented by the auto industry at the dawn of the motor age to promote auto-oriented right-of-way policies.

Next City dropped their paywall for Forefront articles, so read my two long-form pieces from earlier this year: here’s one on the implications of autonomous vehicles for land use politics, and a profile of Pittsburgh’s urbanist Mayor Bill Peduto.