October 20: Rectifying Eastwick’s urban renewal disaster | Meet the trash boats | Sigma Sound Studios in line for demolition

Samantha Melamed reports the city may begin to rectify the disastrous experiment with urban renewal in Eastwick, in which 2,000 acres of private property were condemned and 8,636 people were evicted. With Korman Corp’s land option expiring on a large swathe of vacant land at the end of the year, the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority wants to reach a settlement to retake control of the 128 acres and begin a community-driven planning process. 

Contractor Griffin Campbell was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the 2013 building collapse on Market Street, Joseph A. Slobodzian reports. 

Mark Dent introduces us to the trash boats that pull 44 tons of garbage out of Philly rivers each year.

There’s now an historic marker at the site of Sigma Sound Studios, the studio that produced volumes of hits by artists like the Delfonics, the O’Jays, David Bowie, and The Village People. Sadly, the property was recently purchased by 210 North 12th Street Investments LLC. and 212 North 12th Street Investments LLC., and Kimberly Roberts reports the building is “scheduled for demolition in order to make way for apartments, retail or office space.”

Eleanor Klibanoff says Pennsylvania tourism officials think the state could be doing more to cash in on the leafers. 

The PA Turnpike Commission might do away with the yellow call boxes on the Turnpike. 

Railroads across the country are warning of widespread shutdowns unless Congress gives them more time to implement Positive Train Control technology. Earlier this year, Jim Saksa reported SEPTA and Amtrak are ahead of the curve on this. The Washington Post reports that a deadline extension bill is likely.

A new White House report says the labor share of national income is declining because more and more of the wealth being created is captured by the owners of increasingly pricey land in tony locales. Or as Matt Yglesais summarizes it, NIMBYs are making your paycheck smaller by blocking the kind of higher density zoning that would allow for more subdivision of expensive urban land.

There’s now a bipartisan House bill budgeting $325 billion for transportation funding over six years, reports Keith Laing at The HIll, but House lawmakers have yet to agree on pay-fors to cover the final three years.

Former NYCDOT commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan previewed the forthcoming Global Street Design Guide at CityLab 2015 this week, showcasing best practices in street design and traffic calming from around the world. Check out her slideshow.