August 09, 2024
Provided Image/Fishtown Business Improvement District
A rendering shows the 2400 block of Frankford Avenue with the string lights that will be installed next month.
A portion of Frankford Avenue in Fishtown will be adorned by solar-powered string lights that stretch from one side of the street to the other beginning in mid-September.
The $6,500 light installation going up on the 2400 block of Frankford Avenue, near the roundabout at York Street. It's the first of several Fishtown blocks that will receive solar-powered lights, which the Fishtown Business Improvement District expects to boost safety and improve curb appeal.
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"There's so many benefits to this, because even while you're walking and looking and saying, 'Oh, these are pretty,' it's just safer to be out with the extra lighting, with the extra care that we provide,"Fishtown BID Executive Director Marc Collazzo, said. "So, we're excited about it."
The lights can change color, will be lit year-round and can be controlled by nearby business owners through phone apps, Collazzo said.
The Fishtown BID selected the block to receive the first set of lights because of recent development nearby. The roundabout opened in 2021, a Valerio Coffee store opened at the intersection earlier this year, and new restaurant Picnic is right around the corner.
"The improvements there have really been extraordinary over the past year or two," Collazzo said. "With new businesses that are there and coming in, then it becomes this really great pedestrian destination spot or a gateway. We thought the lighting would really enhance (the area) so people could be out, walk and enjoy."
The 2200 block of Frankford is the next to receive solar-powered string lights. Collazzo said the Fishtown BID hopes to have them installed by the holidays, and lighting everything up red, green and blue. More streets will get them in the future, including the intersections of Frankford and Girard avenues, and Front Street and Girard Avenue. The Fishtown BID also is planning a pedestrian avenue on Martha Street between Hagert and York streets that also will have string lights.
Residential blocks won't be part of the program, because they are outside of the control of the BID.
The lights are being funded by the Philadelphia Activities Fund and by the Fishtown BID. According to the Fishtown BID, the lights' $6,500 cost is due to several factors, including their use of solar power, the amount of light they provide, their durability and their ability to be controlled via phone.
Collazzo said he hopes the lights will be a welcome addition to upcoming developments in Fishtown, and also show off some already completed changes.
"They're enhanced lighting, they add something artistic, almost," Collazzo said. "But they're not these blinding, neon lights that I think would become very problematic. They accentuate what's there."
