It was roughly two years back that we told you about the Moyer Street Project, a plan to investigate reinvigorating the cruddy 2400 block of Moyer Street, right off of Aramingo Avenue. At the time, the Olde Richmond Civic Association had crafted a survey to ask neighbors what they wanted to see happen to this block, and a community meeting was planned to discuss the matter as well. This sounded great to us, and we were further encouraged to learn that ORCA was getting a $25K TCDI (Transportation and Community Development Initiative) grant to hire planning professionals to really suss out the project.

Checking in on the block today, we can report that not much has changed and that it still looks pretty awful. But it seems there’s some good stuff right on the horizon.

According to an article from Star News, ORCA board member Mike McCullough is now working harder than ever to make Moyer Street Park a reality. The intent is to close off Moyer Street as a pedestrian plaza, a concept we’ve seen executed with great success at the Grays Ferry Triangles at 23rd & South. A main thrust of the park will be a dog run along the side of the CVS building, but also included in the plans are new landscaping, a bike share station, refreshed belgian blocks between the railroad tracks, a mural, and an event space in front of Planet Fitness. The combination of infrastructure improvements and beautification will cost many thousands of dollars, as you might expect, and implementation of the plan will surely take many years.

Because these sorts of things tend to start small and then take off, McCullough has started a GoFundMe page to raise $10Kto implement the first phase of Moyer Street Park. This first phase will include purchasing fencing for the dog run and bollards to block off the street. It may seem like a small step, but simply creating the space, even without all the bells and whistles, is crucial to get this thing off the ground. If you think this is a great idea, we suggest you throw a couple bucks at the project. If it’s fully realized, it will be a wonderful addition to a place that’s currently wall to wall shopping centers and parking lots; and even in its initial phases, it will be a positive step for the area.