June 12th Community Meeting Presentation

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Important information to bear in mind about this project:

• The Engineer for the project is HNTB (www.hntb.com) 
• The Landscape Architect for the project is Menke & Menke (www.menkeandmenke.com)
• The bridge will be 12’ wide. The Ramps will be 10’ wide and about 270 feet in length. The SRP Ramp starts at Elev. 0, proceeds 30’ up to Elev. 3.0, turns left for 90’ to Elev. 10.0 and finally turns right 150’ to the bridge Elev. 22.0.
• Lighting will be provided under the Ramps and will be maintained by the City.
• Bid Date – To meet the Court Ordered completion date of Oct. 22, 2009, the project will have to be bid before the end of this year.

The Presentation

The Bridge Plan

Yellow Alignment Designs for Connector Bridge

A preliminary design treatment of the connector bridge using the chosen yellow alignment which is depicted in red below will run along the western edge of the Schuylkill River Park over the CSX tracks in line with about Spruce Street to the river and Schuylkill Banks then run in a direction toward Locust Street.

    
 Alignment                             Looking east                                        Looking west                                           Main span

Connector Bridge Alignment Determined

Click image to enlarge     Click image to download

The design concept team (DCT*) carefully reviewed the comments and ideas from park users, stakeholders and neighbors gathered from last fall’s meeting and surveys on the three possible bridge alignments. It also studied several other potential alternatives that involved structures outside of Schuylkill River Park. Upon this review, the DCT concluded that the “yellow” or “west border” alignment was the most feasible and best met the needs of the project and the community’s concerns.

The ‘yellow” alignment runs along the western edge of the Schuylkill River Park over the CSX tracks to Schuylkill Banks in a south to north line. This bridge, in addition to serving as an above grade crossing, will provide an access point between the river and Schuylkill Banks to Schuylkill River Park and the surrounding neighborhoods. It will fulfill the original conception of Schuylkill River Park as connecting the city to the riverfront.

Please note that the accompanying picture is only an alignment, not a final design treatment. The engineering firm HNTB will now prepare a preliminary design taking into considerations the public’s comments in addition to the features recommended in the 2006 Master Plan developed by Friends of Schuylkill River Park.

You can make a comment on our blog here.

We thank everyone who made their voices heard during this process. Your input contributed to making this public engagement process constructive and successful.

*The Design Concept Team consists of the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia Streets and Commerce Departments, Friends of Schuylkill River Park, Schuylkill River Park Alliance, Center City Residents Association, University of Pennsylvania, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Thank you for sending in your opinion about the 3 Connector Bridge alignment options

The online evaluation and survey, plus emails sent directly to the design consultant have been compiled. In summary, the outcome of this public engagement process is as follows:

• In total, over 500 people submitted comments and evaluations on the three bridge alignments.
  Comments sent via email are here.,
  Evaluation form results are here.,
  Comments made on online survey form are here.
• From the comments and evaluations of the three options presented to date, the "west border" (or yellow) option received the most favorable comments and evaluations, the red and the green options in their current forms had the least favorable comments or evaluations.
• The Design Concept Team* is continuing to explore options and will keep you informed.

*The Design Concept Team consists of the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, Fairmount Park, Philadelphia Streets and Commerce Departments, Friends of Schuylkill River Park, Schuylkill River Park Alliance, Center City Residents Association, University of Pennsylvania, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Some answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about the Connector Bridge

Why must the connector bridge be built? The settlement agreement between CSX and the City of Philadelphia calls for the two grade crossings to be “improved” (with automatic gates that close the crossings when trains approach or are parked) within 24 months (April 2009) and that an above grade crossing be built within 30 months (October 2009). CSX only agreed to allow the Locust Street crossing to be improved and made a legal grade crossing as long as an overpass was also constructed by the City. CSX wants an additional above grade crossing to give park users an alternative entrance and exit if by chance the Locust street level crossing is closed. CSX understood that the Walnut Street bridge stairs and the future South Street ramp would be available, but stood firm on its demand for an additional above grade crossing. The settlement agreement is under the jurisdiction of Federal Judge Bruce Kaufman and if the above grade crossing is not constructed, it is likely that CSX will go back to court.

Why not build: A tunnel, an elevator or an overpass that swings over the River? Read some answers from SRDC here.

Proposed Bridge Alignments

Click on pictures to enlarge

North Border Option - Green - near gardens West Border Option - Yellow - back fence Graded Bowl Option - Red - circular path

Background Information

A summary of the Agreement in our Fall 2007 Newsletter

A pdf of the CSX-City of Philadelphia Settlement Agreement signed April 24, 2007

A timeline of Free Schuylkill River Park's Campaign to get CSX to make Race and Locust Street crossings permanent and safe.

A summary of the results of an online survey conducted during July 2007 about the connector bridge