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Upper Valley Green Parking Lot Closed Until September 30
Friends of the Wissahickon (FOW) Urges Park Users to Walk or Bike to Wissahickon Valley Park
FOW will begin work on a two-phase project at the upper parking lot on Valley Green Road in Wissahickon Valley Park this summer. The project will improve water quality in Wissahickon Creek by helping to meet the EPA Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for sedimentation, improve parking conditions, and restore native vegetation. Phase 1 (July 1 to September 30) will involve stabilizing the streambank along the parking lot and Phase 2 (dates to be determined) will involve resurfacing the parking lot itself. Construction dates are determined by the permitting process and weather conditions.
The project will involve stabilizing 350 feet of stream adjacent to the parking area by installing rock steps designed to dissipate high energy storm flows, resurfacing/restriping the parking lot, repairing broken wheel stops, and replacing invasive plant species with natives. This project is being done in partnership with Philadelphia Parks & Recreation and the Philadelphia Water Department as part of the Wissahickon Stormwater Mitigation and Sediment Reduction Project, a collaborative effort to reduce erosion and the loss of forest habitat park-wide.
The parking lot will be closed during Phases 1 and 2, beginning on July 1, 2013. Parking will be limited during the week prior to the start of Phase 1, from June 24 to 30. The two parking lots closest to Valley Green Inn will be reserved for patrons with disabilities and families with small children.
For the safety of all park users, FOW has contracted for additional Park Ranger patrolling during the length of the project and cars parking in non-designated parking areas in Wissahickon Valley Park will be ticketed; emergency vehicles must have access. Park users are urged to bike, walk, or use public transportation to the park, and use alternative parking lots in the Wissahickon, which are shown in the attached park overview graphic. A more detailed map of the park, trails and parking areas can be found on FOW's new Map of Wissahickon Valley Park (available at www.fow.org/about-park/maps).
"This could be a great opportunity for park users to explore areas of the park they don't normally visit," says FOW Executive Director Maura McCarthy.
View Getting to the Wissahickon in a larger map
Upper Valley Green Lot is to the right on Valley Green Rd. The lots closest to the Valley Green Inn will be reserved for people with disabilities and families with small children.
