The Schuylkill River Development Corporation's aspirations to revitalize the river's waterfront have been put on indefinite hold due to a lack of adequate funding.
In an effort to aesthetically improve the city, the SRDC intended to develop the Schuylkill's riverfront with a trail and park. The SRDC hoped that these improvements would make it a popular destination for local residents and tourists.
The SRDC intended to extend the Schuylkill River Trail and connect it to the South Street bridge through a ramp for pedestrians and bicycles.
According to Joseph Syrnick, the executive director of the SRDC, the organization had only enough funding to construct the first link, from Martin Luther King Drive to Locust Street, costing approximately $15 million. The next portion, from Locust Street to the South Street bridge would cost $10 million, of which the SRDC has just half.
Plans call for a third component, extending from the South Street bridge to Bartram's Garden.
"It's such an ambitious plan; it's a matter of finding the funding," Elisa Sweed, the director of special projects for Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell, said.
In spite of the current lack of funding, however, Syrnick is optimistic about the future of the project.
"This is a really critical linkage to the University of Pennsylvania and other areas," he said.
While Syrnick could not propose a concrete plan or timetable for resuming construction, he made it clear that the project is far from terminated.
"We still have $5 million, half of the $10 million, he said. "That's a lot of money."
In spite of this optimism, the actual design for the remainder of the plan has not yet been discussed. According to Syrnick, starting the design of the trail will cost the SRDC approximately $800,000.
"We are hopeful to begin design within the next couple of months," he said.
Despite the group's current financial difficulties, Syrnick said that the SRDC is diligently attempting to restart work.
"We're pushing everyday to make this happen," Syrnick said.
"We need to take a look at our waterfront differently ... we need to clean up the environment by cleaning up our rivers," Sweed said.
The SRDC has focused on improving the Schuylkill's waterfront since 1992.
