Seeing the Parkway shine like it did for the Live 8 show, and as a neighborhood resident for the last couple years, I wanted to point out some ideas the City Planning Commission has developed for some of the little park areas between the Parkway and City Hall -> http://www.philaplanning.org/ .

I don't see anything specifically focused on Logan Circle, however. That is a shame, b/c Logan Circle has been ranked 5th in the U.S. for the most under-performing parks relative to their potential -> http://www.pps.org/gps/one?public_place_id=758# . I sure hope someone in the City or Fairmount Park Commission is focusing on the circle itself. It has a tremendous potential.

For starters, the city did itself a huge favor by protecting Logan Circle from the Live 8 throngs. At last year's July 4th event, in contrast, my wife and I and some friends watched the fireworks from inside Logan Circle, and it made me so angry to see the children and adults trampling the flowers which had been so painstakingly planted and nurtured.

Note to city: don't take down the fence until after the July 4th concert. The throngs trample all flowers and destroy the flower beds with abondon, for some reason, maybe b/c they are so focused on the fireworks overhead, they don't care about what they're stepping on below their feet.

Some other ideas I have for Logan Circle include fencing it with a decorative iron 5 ft fence, and locking it down around mid-night. This way it can't be used as a homeless Motel-6, and turn into a waste-ridden mess-hole until crews clean it up daily.

Final idea which may be corny -> how about yellow bricks like the Wizard of Oz? The area is a natural for it, at least on 3 sides of the square. Starting from the NE corner and going counter-clockwise, all these institutions deal with children or families -> Family Court, Central Library, Franklin Institute, Academy of Natural Sciences. Not fitting the mould would be the Cathedral, Four Seasons, and Moore College of Art. Still, if the brickwork were nice and well maintained, it would be a big improvement and help draw children and families into the circle. Plus it would solve the problem of nasty puddles and wet spots after rain storms, which don't go away for some time (maybe they need to install a French drain when/if they make an improvement to the paths).