The public land on the east bank of the Schuylkill belongs to the citizens of Philadelphia. And this coming fall, some of them might even want to spend some time there.
Construction on the Schuylkill River Park began last November and will be completed some time this October or November, according to the city Streets Department's Transportation Engineering Manager Bob Wright.
"There are people out there already using it," Wright said, noting that he had seen a number of joggers on the rough path already in place.
The project is a step toward the city's long-term parks vision, which includes the West Bank Greenway project along the river's western shore. Already home to Fairmont Park, the largest public park in the United States, Philadelphia would enjoy a unique network of green spaces, jogging paths and bicycle lanes.
"Theoretically, you could ride up to Valley Forge from the Walnut Street Bridge," Wright said. "You'd be able to do it with a clearly marked bike route."
The project's viability as an alternative commute -- it could, at least in theory, reduce the number of cars on the Schuylkill Expressway -- helped it earn the federal funding that made it possible.
"Cities have to be very creative in how they can fund these kinds of improvements," Director of Penn's Urban Studies program Elaine Simon explained. "If cities can provide an alternative to the use of individual cars... they get federal money for it."
Wright confirmed that the city "really did this because it came through a federal highway grant."
"We're not going to draw 100,000 drivers off the road, but if we draw 100, that's a plus," he said.
"It's a very progressive rationale," Simon said. "Whether it will take people off the road or not -- that's another question."
Its impact on the environment aside, the new public space is full of positive potential.
"Cities provide recreational and cultural options for people almost as much as they do job options," Simon said. "Instead of it just sitting there... it's great to bring it back."
"More and more places are private spaces, they're all inside-spaces and they all restrict access in a way, you have to have money to get in, you have to have money to participate," Simon added, noting that the park represents the public-space advantage cities enjoy over the suburbs.
The fate of the rest of the greater Greenway project, however, remains in the air. Though plans ranging from the restoration of Philadelphia's historic Fairmount Waterworks to expansions of the new greenways are on the table, they might not enjoy federal windfalls or relatively speedy completions.
"There's the waterworks restoration project, that's one of these 'some day' projects," Wright said.
"There would also be complications expanding the [Schuylkill River Park] farther south," Wright continued, noting that the city doesn't own the land necessary for the full realization of the project's potential.
Even the land itself may be an obstacle. "The terrain down there is a little iffy... there's really not a whole lot of public access, and it's kind of desolate," Wright said.
"You've got the railroad between civilization and the park, and the railroad right now is not really amenable to grade crossings."
As railroad operators currently use track on the eastern side of the river to park trains, rail companies fear that grade crossings -- rather than more expensive bridges or underpasses -- might allow pedestrians to crawl over or between trains.
"If they park and they block a crossing and you happen to want to cross at that point," Wright began, sketching out the liability nightmare, "you'll hear the hiss of breaks and then what do you do?"
"The easy way, unfortunately, is to just leave that for future consideration," Wright concluded. "We'll cross those bridges when we get to them. No pun intended."
