“We will stick together, we will stay together and we will work together to get it done.” That’s what Joan Briley told the crowd gathered for Friday’s announcement of the North Central Special Services District. This program is designed to promote neighborhood maintenance, public safety, workforce development and educational opportunities.
Temple President Richard Englert welcomed this initiative after witnessing some off-campus issues first hand:
“Many months ago I had the opportunity to very carefully walk the streets around Temple and I was aghast at some of the trash that occurred during move out. When students are moving out sofas in the street, bags of trash, and we said, we need to do something.”
The North Central Special Services District will be collaborating with a program called One Day at Time, to pick up trash Tuesdays through Thursdays to help maintain the neighborhood streets. Also, there will be an increase in Allied Barton bicycle security for off-campus housing to prevent noise complaints. The district will be monitoring areas in between Broad Street to 18th and Dauphin to Oxford. This special district services has been modeled after the University City District, created in 1997.
The nine-member board is made up of Temple and community representatives who say they are eager to implement the changes. The districts executive director, Tara Miller, told Temple Update:
“It’s really important for us to provide and area especially for the younger students that go to Duckery or the various elementary schools in the neighborhood that they have a safe place to grow to learn that’s clean and vibrant that’s really what we’re excited about,”
Not everyone was happy with the way Friday’s announcement was handled, however, including a number of protesters like Jennifer Bennetch:
“As an activist, a parent… I was not invited to any conversations about this special services district, so I invited myself,”
The organization encourages Temple students to be aware and respectful of their neighbors. For more information on getting involved with this new program, click here.
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