Parks, trails slated for Schuylkill River area

The Schuylkill River doesn't exactly have a reputation for beauty and cleanliness. But several different Philadelphia organizations want to change that by building a series of landscaped walking and biking trails alongside it. Officials said they hope this project will revitalize the underdeveloped area surrounding the 125-mile-long river which bounds the eastern side of the Penn campus. The four trails -- which will eventually interconnect -- will run on both sides of the river and create a system of recreational tracks serving many different Philadelphia destinations, organizers said. "These greenways will become significant components of Philadelphia's evolving post-industrial landscape," said Steve Hammell, who is in charge of building one of the four planned paths. "They will attract large numbers of pedestrians and cyclists to the Schuylkill River corridor." Along the west bank of the Schuylkill, the three-mile Botanic Trail will connect 30th Street Station with Bartram's Garden, a 44-acre historic botanical garden in West Philadelphia. Hammell, the environmental developer for Campbell-Thomas and Co., the architecture and planning firm creating the path, said he hopes to have the trail cross Penn near Franklin Field, between the South Street Bridge and University Avenue. He said this trail will wind along the river, crossing public streets, railroad lines and industrial areas to reach its destination at Bartram's Garden. The project is currently waiting for a federal grant of $1.3 million to cover financing costs. If the project receives funding as expected, Hammell said, construction of the greenway will begin this summer and end in the summer of 2000. Another trail, the Schuylkill River Park, will extend from the Philadelphia Museum of Art at 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Locust Street along the east bank of the river. This project, coordinated by the Schuylkill River Development Council, will "enhance the quality of life for Philadelphia by introducing recreational opportunities in Center City both on land and water," SRDC head John Randolph said. The trail will be composed of an upper level continuous pathway for biking and pedestrian travel and a lower promenade containing seating areas. Officials said the first phase of construction -- the bulkheading, or walls separating the river from land -- has been completed. The construction of the pathway itself and a park located on the trail between Chestnut Street and John F. Kennedy Boulevard is set to begin this summer and end sometime in the summer of 2000. The final phase of the project, in which the landscaping and greenery will be added to the trail, should be completed in mid-2001. The project will cost about $14 million dollars, which will come from corporate sponsorships and government grants. Officials have raised about $10 million thus far. The two other trails are further behind in the development process. One will likely encircle the Philadelphia International Airport, while the other will start at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and cross the Schuylkill on its way to 30th Street Station.

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