The Fox Chase Town Watch and Civic Association last week held an “open forum” meeting.
Topics touched on at the July 9 meeting included:
• The 2nd and 7th police districts will hold a community bike ride on Tuesday, Aug. 5, outside Fox Chase Elementary School, 500 Rhawn St. The leisurely ride will be escorted by police officers. All participants will be eligible to win a new bike in a raffle at 5:30.
National Night Out will follow from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the Fox Chase school yard. There will be a DJ, food and more. For more information, call state Rep. Sean Dougherty’s office at 215-331-2600.
• The 2nd Police District is offering summer driving safety tips. The district is encouraging people to lock their doors and take their keys when going into a store, and to not let the car run so they can get back in with the air conditioning running.
• The civic association will be serving as “phambassadors” for events next year in Philadelphia that will celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday. Events will include the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, World Cup soccer games, conventions, the PGA Championship, TED Democracy talks and neighborhood gatherings to be announced. Fox Chase is expected to get a bit of a facelift along Oxford Avenue.
For more information, go to visitphilly.com/2026, philadelphia250.us or phambassador.com.
• Tufano Roofing continues to place American flags around the neighborhood. To make a donation to the effort, visit Acker’s Hardware, 400 Huntingdon Pike, in Rockledge.
• SEPTA will be performing overhead wire work on the Fox Chase Line on Saturday and Sunday, July 19-20. There will be shuttle busing between the Fox Chase and Olney stations.
Civic members are concerned that, without sufficient funding, SEPTA will end service on its rail lines at 9 p.m.
• Members are seeking answers about the Medical Mission Sisters property at 8400 Pine Road, as rumors are that the site has been sold and the Sisters will be moving. The order wants to sell the property and use proceeds to care for ailing, aging Sisters and to pay for its mission in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Sisters outlined their proposal at the civic meeting in October 2021. The developer proposed 549 housing units – 431 apartments and 118 townhouses. Civic members expressed concerns about traffic, rainwater runoff and an apartment glut in the neighborhood.
• Fox Chase Town Watch and Civic Association will meet on Wednesday, Sept. 10, at 7:30 p.m. at American Legion Loudenslager Post 366, 7976 Oxford Ave. ••
