Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Inquirer Editorial: $3 million to extend the Schuylkill River Trail is a smart investment

Building on the success of the Schuylkill River Trail, the city is extending it into Elmwood, bringing a bit of greenery into the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood, which sorely lacks natural spaces.

Gov. Wolf announcing the trail expansion.
Gov. Wolf announcing the trail expansion.Read moreAvi Steinhardt / For the Inquirer

Building on the success of the Schuylkill River Trail, the city is extending it into Elmwood, bringing a bit of greenery into the Southwest Philadelphia neighborhood, which sorely lacks natural spaces.

Planners have been pushing the trail south at a deliberate pace with enlightened ideas. They've extended popular Fairmount Park trails south, creating a heavily used path where residents and tourists can take a boat ride, rent a bike or kayak or just enjoy the river from a bench. Existing parts of the path are so heavily used by walkers, cyclists and even skaters that some may want to see traffic cops.

The city also has developed a popular fishing pier in Grays Ferry with passive green space surrounding it, adding value to the changing community. The neighborhood has become increasingly popular with millennials looking for good housing near Center City jobs. It's proximity to the heart of the city has helped Grays Ferry, but amenities like a fun path, which can also serve as a safe commute to work, help too.

Last week Gov. Wolf came to town to award a $3 million grant towards the $13 million greenway trail project from Bartram's Mile (between Grays Ferry Avenue and 58th Street) to Passyunk Point where Passyunk Avenue crosses the river. This is an extraordinary opportunity to rethink these neighborhoods and how they approach the river as a source of peaceful recreation.

The grant covers land acquisition and site remediation in this formerly industrial area, as well as construction. The cost is well worth it. The path will add to the quality of life in neighborhoods, giving residents an easy and healthy way to get to the Art Museum and Fairmount Park. The trail is also likely to spur development because it raises the appeal of the area from drab to dynamic. Officials are even dreaming about using some of the land near the trail for mid-rise offices or light manufacturing.

Combine this with smart plans to reinvent the areas around 30th Street Station as well as University City, and sections outside of Center City become even more vibrant, expanding the city's new prosperity beyond the old river to river, South Street to Spring Garden Street boundaries.

The path already attracts 29,000 visitors a week and if the adventurous follow it north, they can eventually make it to Reading with a few detours.

Future plans include connecting Spruce Hill and West Philadelphia to the river trails, which could link to the University of the Sciences, Penn and Drexel universities, as well as a trail between Passyunk Point to Fort Mifflin.

The old industrial river has a rich history, and with ideas like this trail, a bright future.