Mayor Purzycki Announces Open Streets Wilmington

Post provided by The City of Wilmington

The series transforms city streets to walk ways to promote
recreation and building community spirits

Get your sneakers ready for Saturday! Mayor Mike Purzycki and Cultural Affairs Director Tina Betz today announced a new pilot program entitled Open Streets Wilmington. The first of these events, which encourage citizens to walk, socialize and enjoy the beautiful Brandywine Park, will happen this Saturday morning.

The free and open to the public event will temporarily restrict vehicle access each Saturday morning through the end of November along North Park Drive and South Park Drive between Market Street Bridge and Van Buren Street Bridge. Open Streets Wilmington will, in effect, transform 1.5 miles of streets into an extension of the park.

Betz said the simplicity of the Open Streets Wilmington pilot series is central to the experience – it is not a race, there is no start or finish line, and there is no wrong place to enter. She said people of all ages and abilities are welcome to walk, bike, skate, run, play, or just people-watch in a safe and beautiful setting, free from concern about vehicular traffic.

The Open Streets Wilmington pilot series will take place on Saturday mornings from 7 a.m. to noon beginning this Saturday, October 28 through Saturday, November 25, for a total of five consecutive Saturdays.

"We hope that Open Streets Wilmington will connect multiple neighborhoods and provide a wonderful opportunity for communities to get outside and be active in one of our city's most scenic places as the leaves are producing bright fall colors," said Mayor Purzycki. “This is a way for the public to creatively self-invest in our public places. Open Streets enables citizens to fully appreciate how special and majestic this part of the city is – and with that appreciation comes the hope that people will fall in love with Wilmington all over again.”
 
Open Streets Wilmington is inspired by the global open streets movement which uses city streets to promote healthy outdoor activity and community engagement. Wilmington now joins more than 100 cities in North America and over 400 cities globally that are staging open streets events.

Brandywine Zoo and other sections of Brandywine Park will remain accessible by car. The parking lot near the Brandywine Zoo and Jasper Crane Rose Garden can be accessed by 18th Street and Van Buren Street (Monkey Hill), and visitors on the south side of the park can access the municipal parking lot at Lovering Avenue and Van Buren Street, underneath the I-95 overpass.

For more information, including a map and FAQs, visit www.openstreetswilmington.com.

Wilmington Launches Parkmobile Parking Payment System at 1,000 Parking Meters in the Downtown District

Post provided by The City of Wilmington

Beginning today, citizens can pay for parking with their mobile devices and receive a warning when the time on their meter is about to expire

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki today launched the Parkmobile payment option for metered parking in Downtown Wilmington. Beginning today, citizens can pay for parking through the Parkmobile phone app at approximately 1,000 metered spaces in the downtown district.

Finance Director Patrick Carter, Council President Hanifa Shabazz and 4th District Council Member Michele Harlee joined the Mayor for the announcement in Spencer Plaza. Also in Wilmington for today’s announcement was Brett Peze representing the City’s partners on the project—Parkmobile and Conduent.

“Parkmobile offers a convenient payment option that will improve the parking experience in downtown Wilmington,” said Mayor Purzycki. “This is an important step in modernizing our City’s on-street parking systems, which will in turn help attract customers to our shops, restaurants, entertainment venues and other businesses in and around the downtown corridor.”

Wilmington has entered into a partnership with Conduent and Parkmobile, LLC to make the Parkmobile app available to everyone at no cost to the City. In addition to paying for metered parking with their mobile phone, citizens can receive a reminder before their meter expires so they can extend their time with a few taps in the app instead of walking back to the meter. Two-hour time limits still apply, and the app will not allow customers to extend time beyond those limits.

There is a 30 cent transaction fee charged by Parkmobile for the use of its technology. However, should you decide to add money to a meter which has not already reached the two-hour limit, you will NOT be charged another transaction fee. The new service also tracks the time you arrive at a parking space and how long you’ve paid to park, which will help settle disputes from citizens who say they were ticketed with time and money remaining in their meter. Parking enforcement officers will use their handheld devices to confirm whether a customer has paid with Parkmobile.

All of the City’s downtown meters will also allow citizens to continue to pay for parking with coins or a credit card if they choose not to download the Parkmobile app. Parkmobile signage that displays zone information and additional details has been added to all parking meters.

To set up an account, you can register free on the Parkmobile app or at www.parkmobile.com. Once registered, you can immediately begin paying with Parkmobile either by using the app for iPhone, Android, or Windows 7 phones or by calling a toll-free number. Customers simply select their parking zone (which is actually a city block), license plate, card information, and length of stay, and off they go.

“This upgrade allows Wilmington residents, workers, and visitors to enjoy the same level of convenience they may have experienced at the Delaware beaches and in other cities,” continued Mayor Purzycki. “Customers will no longer need to worry about keeping coins on hand or running into stores to request change for the meters. On-street parking is one of the more common interactions that people have with the City of Wilmington, and we want to improve that experience.”

With more than 7 million customers and over 45 million transactions annually, Parkmobile is the most widely used mobile parking solution in the country and is available at nearby locations including Bethany Beach, Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, and Lewes Beach as well as in New York City, Washington, D.C., and – soon – Philadelphia.

“Parkmobile is delighted to be partnering with the City of Wilmington to offer an innovative, hassle-free parking solution,” Jon Ziglar, Parkmobile CEO expressed. “Our Parkmobile service uses cutting-edge technology to enhance the parking experience for users. We are thrilled to now offer this service in Wilmington. We eliminate the taxing process of swiping cards or feeding coins to a meter by offering a user-friendly, mobile solution.”

Download the Parkmobile App here. 

Improving Market Street One Facade at a Time! The Effort Continues!

Chicky’s Pizza Pub, 201 N. Market Street

Through grants, Downtown Visions’ Main Street Wilmington façade improvement program not only provides funding to remove security gates but also provides grants for new signage! This most recently occurred at Wilmington Optical, 719 N. Market Street, Greenhill Pharmacy, 824 N. Market Street and Chicky’s Pizza Pub, 201 N. Market Street.

Interested in all of the Downtown Visions business assistance programs? Click here to learn more. 

Greenhill Pharmacy, 824 N. Market Street

Wilmington Optical, 719 N. Market Street

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab

Working Out Just Became a Whole Lot More Fun on Market Street!

Join us in welcoming Fitbody Personal Training to the Market Street family of businesses! Offering a variety of services, including a 21 day transformation program, Fitbody has something for everyone!  On October 21st, they celebrated their grand re-opening, complete with a DJ, food and drinks as well as a sampling of the incredible work-outs and friendly coaches at your service! 

No matter where you are at in your fitness journey, head over to 727 N Market Street to not only get fit and have a great time while doing it, but to be the best version of YOU! Call 302.689.3882 for more details.

As a dedicated client, Ruth explained, "I consider myself an avid gym goer. I rarely missed a day, but I was not getting the kind of results I wanted. I decided to hire Fitbody trainer Osi and I have got to say he worked out muscles that I didn't know I had! Osi's program is just what I needed to get past that plateau."

Post by Julia Mason of Enthusiasm Lab

Mayor Purzycki Announces a Beautiful City Initiative to Produce a Cleaner Wilmington

 Press release provided by The City of Wilmington, DE.

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki said today that a clean City, one in which its main travel thoroughfares as well as its neighborhoods are free of trash and debris, is a City that cares about its image and its future. With that thought in mind, the Mayor today announced Wilmington’s new Beautiful City Initiative (BCI), which is a consistent, sustained effort by City government and the community to clean the City.
 
Mayor Purzycki said the City government will lead the way on this new mission by instituting, with the support and leadership of the employees of the Public Works Department, a beautification program that has not been attempted before in Wilmington. Purzycki said it’s important to create an aesthetically attractive City for citizens and visitors alike. The Mayor said a clean City means we respect our City. Mayor Purzycki offered his thanks today to AFSCME Local 320, the union to which most of the City Public Works employees belong, for their support of the Beautiful City Initiative.
 
“We are rolling out the Beautiful City Initiative in phases beginning now, and we’ll do more next spring after the weather warms,” said Mayor Purzycki. “Once we get into the groove of the government and community working together to keep Wilmington clean, I know this effort will become part of the norm as opposed to being something special. We all need to take pride in our homes, our blocks and our neighborhoods, because everyone appreciates a beautiful City.”
 
The elements of the Beautiful City Initiative include: 
Cleaning the City’s highly visible areas and well-traveled corridors or gateways. On many mornings, Public Works street cleaning staff are cleaning—by hand and machine—the City’s gateways in the early morning hours prior to the morning rush hour. The gateways that are being cleaned before sunrise are Lancaster Avenue, 4th Street, Maryland Avenue, Northeast Boulevard, Church Street, Vandever Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Concord Avenue and MLK Boulevard.

Deploying more hand cleaning crews on neighborhood streets as well as using the city’s water flusher trucks more often. Clean street crews are paying greater attention to areas needing work such as sidewalks, grass, trees and utilities.

Distributing new and free trash bins to approximately 19,500 residential properties throughout the City next spring and requiring that citizens use the new bins instead of placing trash in bags on the sidewalk. The Mayor said the new trash bins, which will be the same size as the City’s recycle bins, can be lifted and emptied mechanically into a trash truck as the recycle bins currently are, improving worker safety for City employees  and adding greater efficiency to the collection process.
 
Offering an education program to help citizens understand the proper disposal methods for trash and recycling. The education effort will also help citizens control the amount of trash they throw away versus the amount of material they recycle. Mayor Purzycki said we have to do a better job of recycling than we do today because it’s less costly and is better for the environment. Wilmington’s current curbside recycling rate is approximately 20% and the Mayor said he wants to raise it to at least 30%.
 
Improved landscaping design and maintenance for public areas such as MLK Boulevard, Northeast Boulevard at 12th Street, 11th Street between Spruce and Church Streets, Concord Avenue and Broom Street, South Market from A Street to Howard Street, D Street at Heald Street and the Delaware Avenue Streetscape.
 
Improving the process for removing dead or injured trees from public rights of way and in parks.
 
Replacing missing or worn street signage through a citywide visual inventory.
 
Repainting crosswalks and stop bars, as well as repainting fire hydrants.
 
Reviving Wilmington’s Adopt-A-Block program, which asks neighborhoods, businesses, organizations and individuals to adopt an area and then agree to clean debris from a block or series of blocks at least every month, weather permitting.
 
Reform the City’s current street sweeping program by exploring the idea of deploying street cleaning trucks in neighborhoods that are in regular need of cleaning versus cleaning only those areas where citizens have requested street cleaning, which is the City’s current practice. Purzycki said it makes more sense for Public Works to use its judgement to clean streets that need more frequent cleaning.
 
Reform the City’s current practice of providing three, free special trash pick-ups to residential properties annually and then charging just $25 for subsequent pick-ups. Mayor Purzycki said the current system is being abused by irresponsible property owners or tenants who dump large volumes of materials on a City street.  Wilmington averages around 9,000 special pick-ups a year, which drains the Public Works budget and pulls the City’s street cleaning crews away from their mission of keeping streets clean. Instead, The Mayor said he will announce a special pick-up reform plan in the near future so Public Works can concentrate on cleaning the City more efficiently.
 
The Mayor said the City will also continue to crack down on those who illegally dump materials on City streets and open areas by working closely with the Wilmington Police Department to identify and arrest perpetrators. 

Mayor Purzycki and Acting Public Works Commissioner Williams said the new Beautiful City Initiative is being implemented within current budget constraints through improved management of people and resources, more strategic deployment of staff, increased communication, sharing of equipment among divisions,  the use of overtime assignments for existing employees and the hiring a limited number of temporary employees.