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Lardner’s Point Park Wins Green Park Award

    • PRPS Awards Luncheon

The Pennsylvania Recreation & Park Society (PRPS) recently awarded Lardner’s Point Park the 2015 Green Park Award. Tom Branigan, Executive Director of the Delaware River City Corp., attended the luncheon earlier this week to accept the award. Other DRCC members in attendance were Jim Donaghy, Jim Fries, Mariann Dempsey and Patrick Starr.  The luncheon was part of the PRPS 68th Annual State Conference.

The Green Park Award recognizes excellence in the public park community for those that demonstrate the integration of green and sustainable park practices based upon the following criteria: Site Location and Site Design,  Water, Natural Landscaping, Materials Selection and Construction, Connect People to Nature, Operations and Maintenance, and Environmental Stewardship Messaging.

Lardner’s Point – recipient of the 2015 Green Park Award –  is a major trailhead for the North Delaware Riverfront Greenway Trail, part of the Circuit. The park provides space to walk, bicycle, and relax along a very scenic stretch of the Delaware just below the iconic Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. Visitors fish from the pier, picnic at handicap-accessible tables, observe wildlife, and traverse a multi-use path through native meadows.

Congratulations Lardner’s Point Park! 


Happy Trails: Connecting the Dots on the North Delaware (FLYING KITE)

With so much attention on waterfront development in Center City these days, the North Delaware seems lost in the conversation. But that doesn’t mean the stretch of waterfront real estate isn’t seeing its fair share of activity.  

Thanks to the Delaware River City Corporation (DRCC)—the organization in charge of spearheading the North Delaware Greenway, an integral part of the much larger East Coast Greenway—trail and open space construction has taken off.
 
In 2008, the nonprofit’s efforts resulted in the creation of the Pennypack on the Delaware Trail, a paved trail connecting Pennypack Park to Pennypack Creek. Then, in October 2012, DRCC broke ground on the Port Richmond Trail, a 12-foot-wide, 1.5-mile asphalt trail that will connect the Port Richmond neighborhood to the waterfront and extend north along the Delaware. Completion is expected within a year.

Looking forward, the two-mile K&T Trail (planned for an abandoned riverfront freight rail line) is in its final design stage, with construction expected in the next two years. Also on the docket is the Baxter Trail, a two-mile northward extension of the trail from Pennypack Creek.

“By 2014, 60 percent of the Greenway will be built,” says DRCC Executive Director Tom Branigan.

There are still gaps in the 11-mile route that will be difficult to connect due to environmental issues, property rights or other constraints, but Branigan is confident that those lapses can be bridged and the North Delaware Greenway can be completed by 2020.

The DRCC also has an eye towards building even more meaningful connections between the waterfront to its adjacent neighborhoods. "Our ultimate mission is to connect the waterfront to neighborhoods and improve access," explains Branigan, who adds that those efforts won’t be able to take off until current projects are wrapped up. 

Source: Tom Branigan, Executive Director, DRCC
WriterGreg Meckstroth

Original Story here


Back to Back Trail TIGER Projects in the Spotlight

Two TIGER projects are in the spotlight over the next few days.

The Connector Bridge dedication ceremony is scheduled for 1:00 pm on Saturday, October 20th (rain or shine).  The bridge promises to be a fantastic new access point to the Schuylkill River Trail and is the culmination of an eight year campaign to ensure at-grade and above-grade access to the Trail and Schuylkill Banks. 

The 1:00 pm ceremony will be on the City side of the Bridge, at Schuylkill River Park (25th and Spruce Streets).  Come early for the Fall Festivalthat starts at 11:00 am.  If you want to be among the first to use the Bridge, come run (or volunteer) at the 8:00 am 5K Runnin on the River that is happening that morning. You can register online!

The Port Richmond Trail gets an official groundbreaking on Monday, October 22nd at 10am.  (Note the date change!) Sponsored by the Delaware River City Corporation, this trail is the only TIGER project that is on the Delaware River.  The speakers will make their remarks from within Pulaski Park, Delaware & Allegheny Avenues, and the shovel display for photo opportunities will be on Delaware Avenue, just north of the entrance to the park.