Archive for February 9, 2009

Getting around Brewerytown

By Shannon McDonald

This is a story I did for MURL, Temple University’s senior journalism class. The assignment was to go out into your assigned neighborhood – in my case,  Brewerytown – and report on how the residents get around. This was a team reporting project, but I was responsible for the written portion.

The snowstorm that hit our region last Tuesday night left the city silent, snuggled up in a white, powdery blanket. But by Wednesday morning, the streets were a mess, the tighter ones paved in ice and the thoroughfares slippery with slush. Brewerytown residents didn’t seem to mind.

“I ride my bike in all kinds of weather,” said Waugh Wright, 34, a resident on the 800-block of Ringgold Street. “It’s a little icy today, but not bad enough for me to put the bike away.”

Wright is a teacher who bikes to work everyday, unless the weather is especially bad. Even though schools were closed last Wednesday, that didn’t stop Wright from pedaling around his neighborhood. The three-and-a-half year Brewerytown resident says the biggest attraction of biking is its environmental benefits, though the exercise doesn’t hurt, either. Continue reading »