Posted on Fri, Apr. 27, 2007

RIVER PARK IS ON A ROLL

CSX AND CITY END FIVE-YEAR BATTLE TO ACCESS PARK

THE FUTURE OF both Schuylkill River Park and the city got brighter this week, thanks to an agreement that will create two crossings onto the Schuylkill River Park Trail, and a pedestrian bridge near Locust Street.
Signed this week by Mayor Street and William G.M. Goetz, resident vice president of CSX Transportation Inc., the agreement is a win times four: The city, the CSX railroad, the Free Schuylkill River Park advocacy group and park users all make out well. That's a rare outcome in a culture where big business often employs "wear 'em down" tactics to sap energy and enthusiasm from grass-roots organizations.
CSX, which had balked at the street-level crossings - they cited safety reasons, though trail advocates suspect it had more to do with the convenience of parking railroad cars in the area - finaly gave in, and thus ended five years of fighting.
The city's greenscape grows. The railroad continues to use the tracks, recreational users will have greater access to the trail and the folks from Free Schuylkill River Park accomplished their goal to make the trail more accessible from the street, and keep train cars from blocking the trail.
The agreement illustrates a minor paradigm shift that we may see more frequently as the city continues to develop. In this case, the riverfront is no longer the sole propriety of industrial giants created in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Instead, a 21st century compromise - you could call it a partnership - won out, with costs being shared by the city, state and CSX.
Hats off to Russell Meddin and Sarah Clark Stuart, coordinators of Free Schuylkill River Park, and board chairman (and City Council candidate) Andy Toy. They showed that goals can be achieved when people get together, work for what they believe is right, and utilize all the resources at their disposal.
Also, U.S. District Judge Bruce Kauffman, who pushed the sides to agreement.
Now, a new timeline starts: 24 months for the crossings to be built at Race Street and Locust Street; 30 months to erect the pedestrian bridge.
And then, city residents get easy access to a new back yard, one that can take them from Valley Forge down to Bartram Gardens to Fort Mifflin, all the way to the airport. 

Nothing beats a win times four.

Signed Agreement Opens Public Access Along Schuylkill

By: Jenny DeHuff, The Bulletin

04/25/2007

SKUYLKILL PARK WILL GET NEW PEDESTIAN OVERPASS

April 25, 2007

by KYW's Steve Tawa

Two street-level crossings to the Schuylkill River Park trail have been preserved, now that the city of Philadelphia and CSX transportation have signed an agreement that also includes a new pedestrian overpass.
The problem for many on that trail - also known as 'Schuylkill Banks' between Locust Street and the foot of Martin Luther King drive - was when CSX regularly parked its trains along the riverfront, effectively blocking street-level crossings at Locust and Race Streets.
Cycling enthusiast Mayor Street is on that path regularly:
"It was just not working. It wasn't working for us."
In a four-year struggle, CSX sued the city, citing safety concerns to close off street-level crossings.
The transportation company wanted the city to put up an overpass. The city argued CSX should install gates at those streets, for passing trains.
Using city, state and federal money, the agreement means the railroad crossings will remain open - gates, crossing paths, and a pedestrian overpass between Locust and Spruce will be built.
'Free Schuylkill River Park' coordinator Sarah Clark Stuart:
"This agreement sets a national precedent for how freight lines can coexist within urban communities."
She called the agreement a victory for thousands of people and numerous organizations who wrote letters, sent e-mails, signed petitions, made phone calls, and attended hearings.

Posted on Thu, Apr. 26, 2007

Ronnie Polaneczky | CSX Goliath couldn't untrack park Davids

SARAH CLARK STUART and Russell Meddin have a problem. But all things considered, it's a happy problem to have. The organization they helped to found in 2003, Free Schuylkill River Park, was born in the face of CSX railroad's threat to cut off the park from the Logan Square and Fitler Square neighborhoods.
CSX tracks separate the park from the neighborhoods, and CSX was adamant that no one cross them. But fencing them off would render the park a cattle chute, hindering its use and crippling waterfront development.
Clark Stuart and Meddin, longtime Logan Square neighbors, wanted to "free" the park from this nonsense, hence the name of their web-based advocacy group.
So what's the problem?
This week, the mayor and CSX agreed to a solution precisely of the kind that the corporation once deplored: the installation of gated and signaled pedestrian crossings at the park's Race and Locust Street entrances, along with a pedestrian bridge over the tracks just south of Locust.
So now that Schuylkill River Park has been "freed," what should Clark Stuart and Meddin call their group?
"It's too soon to say," chuckled Meddin yesterday, still jubilant about Tuesday's agreement. "There's still a lot to do."
Explained Clark Stuart, "We want the community involved in the design of the gates and bridge, and we have to figure out who will monitor the project."
So who knows what roadblocks the group might face between now and the end of 2009, when construction is supposed to be completed?
I guess it's prudent, then, to wait on a name change.
But it's not too soon to cheer Clark Stuart and Meddin, along with web-campaign guru Rob Stuart, board chair (and at-large City Council candidate) Andy Toy and others who managed this grass-roots campaign so deftly, they made it look easy.

Riverfront gets a go

by mike benner / metro philadelphia

APR 25, 2007

CENTER CITY - Mayor John Street signed an agreement with the CSX railroad company yesterday, barring trains from preventing open access to the Schuylkill River Park. The agreement is being welcomed by Center City residents who demanded convenient access to the park, but it’s also being heralded as a catalyst for development along the riverfront.

“The reality is that this is broader than an issue of creating access to a park and building a railroad crossing,” says Councilman Darrell Clarke. “There are substantially more opportunities on the river front than jogging and I’d be disappointed if they weren’t realized.”

Clarke lists restaurants, recreation, retail and boating as possibilities of what he’d like to see on the river banks. The agreement with CSX, says Clarke, “positions us to have a much broader vision” on how to develop along the Schuylkill.

The agreement will ensure that signaled pedestrian railroad crossings are provided at the park’s Locust and Race Street entrances, as well as provide a pedestrian overpass at 25th and Spruce. Funding for the project will come from a variety of sources, including $1 million from the state, $600,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation and $195,000 from Pew Charitable Trusts. State Sen. Vincent Fumo has promised PennDOT will deliver $1 million to kick-start the construction of the overpass, Street said yesterday.

But CSX’s trains aren’t leaving the park anytime soon.

“Trains will still come through the park, but CSX is working to diminish their need to stop so frequently,” says Bill Goetz, the CSX official on hand for the signing. “They’re not going to reroute them. There’s no other way.”

According to Goetz, CSX will be doing extensive track work to help the trash trains move quickly through the park. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania will foot part of the bill.

----

Big ambitions for Schuylkill trail

CENTER CITY - Mayor John Street had a pledge to make yesterday before signing his agreement with CSX.

“This trail isn’t finished,” Street told the crowd at Schuylkill River Park yesterday. “It’s going to go all the way out through Chester!”

If Street’s promise is kept, the segmented trail — which has been in development for over 30 years — will officially become the Philadelphia leg of the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000 mile “Urban Appalachian Trail” connecting all major cities along the east coast between Key West, Fla., and Calais, Maine.

Though the Schuylkill River trail isn’t continuous, that’s no problem.

“If a trail’s incomplete,” says Tanja Wiant, spokeswoman for the Greenway, “we simply designate parts as it’s completed.”

“We’ve already designated 2.4 miles of the Schuylkill as part of the Greenway,” says Dennis Winters, the local Greenway committee head. That stretch is the first in Pennsylvania to be a part of the ECG and will have a ceremony commemorating it next month.

Posted on Wed, Apr. 25, 2007

Now, easier access available to the Schuylkill River Park

By Stephan Salisbury

Inquirer Culture Writer

At 2:17 yesterday afternoon - a few minutes after a boat motored by on the Schuylkill and a few curious bike riders stopped to stare at the riverside clump of politicians, business officials and other, more casually dressed folk - Mayor Street and William Goetz, a CSX Transportation vice president, signed an agreement allowing people to walk right into their park. It only took years of legal maneuvering, City Council hearings, demonstrations, letter-writing campaigns, negotiations and publicity to reach that point. But the signing, on a stage set up near a weedy lot on the east bank of the river near Locust Street, marked the end of a lengthy dispute involving CSX railroad - whose tracks run near the riverbank - the city and residents.
The agreement guarantees that park users will have street-level access over the CSX tracks to Schuylkill River Park at both Race and Locust Streets. CSX had fought such access, citing safety concerns, but in the end agreed to make it happen.
Officials also announced that the Pew Charitable Trusts will contribute $195,000 for planning and design of a new pedestrian overpass to the park somewhere in the neighborhood of Spruce Street.
"I use this part of the park all the time," Street noted, adding that the area near Locust Street was the first area cleared under his Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.
The park, he said, "is a huge, huge amenity for the city," attracting visitors and residents alike.
"It's even more important because this trail isn't going to stop here," Street added. "This is just the beginning." Michael Nutter, a former councilman now running for mayor, and Councilman Darrell L. Clarke, both active in pushing for access to the park, agreed that the deal with CSX held significance for revitalization along the river.
"This agreement today and the working relationship that's been developed between the city and CSX opens up new avenues of opportunity for development, for recreation, for better access to the water, and may teach us some lessons about what we should be doing with our waterfront," said Nutter. "It's brought a partnership together from the public to the private to the philanthropic, now, with Pew. It's really important."
Clarke was equally enthusiastic about the potential. "Just look at the site and you can see the opportunities," he said. "There's no reason this can't create an environment that has restaurant activity. The current of the river is relatively slow. No reason we shouldn't have boating opportunities. I think it’s limitless."
Russell Meddin, one of the area residents who fought for access to the park, beamed. "It's a great, great thing for Fairmount Park," he said. "It's a great, great thing for the city. Finally, it's a great impetus to the city to get the Schuylkill River [bicycle] trail finished to South Street, to Bartram's Garden, all the way to Fort Mifflin."

Posted on Tue, Apr. 24, 2007

Pact backs access to Schuylkill Park

By Stephan Salisbury

Inquirer Culture Writer

Mayor Street is expected to sign an agreement today that guarantees residents street-level access to Schuylkill River Park at Locust and Race Streets and brings a sometimes-contentious dispute with CSX Transportation close to a conclusion.

The transportation company, which fought the street crossings, has also agreed to facilitate construction of a pedestrian overpass of its railroad tracks along the eastern riverbank near Spruce Street and to cease parking garbage trains along those tracks, a practice that many residents found particularly offensive.

Park advocates and city officials said concluding the deal with CSX allowed attention to focus on developing the park and its bicycle trail south past Locust to South Street and beyond.

"I think we got an excellent deal," said Sarah Clark Stuart, co-coordinator of Free Schuylkill River Park, a citizens group. "It preserves the access we always had and creates additional access with the pedestrian overpass. It eliminates the [rail] cars causing the biggest olfactory problem for the park. And it shows that the park and the railroad can coexist and do what is good for the park, the railroad and the city."

Robert T. Sullivan, CSX spokesman in Philadelphia, said the company was "pleased the issue has been resolved with terms that are acceptable to all parties."

Sullivan said the agreement, reached in broad outline late last year, would result in a safer park.

"It's a win-win," he said. "It did take a while, but it's not an issue that is easy to deal with."

A spokesman for Street said successfully concluding negotiations was significant in the effort to continue revitalization of the riverfront. "It's very important to us to create public access to the park and river," said Joe Grace.

Once it is signed by Street, the agreement will fall under the jurisdiction of Judge Bruce W. Kauffman of U.S. District Court.

CSX filed suit in federal court in January 2005, seeking to block access to the park at Locust and Race. At the time, park users simply crossed the tracks at those streets - and if a train was parked, as often happened, they occasionally climbed over or under it.

The city argued that CSX should install gates at those streets, preventing entrance if a train was passing or parked. But the company, citing safety concerns, said the city should construct an overpass.

Residents and park users have also been riled by the routing of garbage trains along the riverside tracks, sometimes parking the cars there for hours.

The agreement the mayor is expected to sign today affirms a CSX commitment to alter operations and, with some track construction farther north, eliminate the garbage-train problem.

Michael Eichert, chief deputy city solicitor, said the agreement will be put in place over two years.

Construction of automatic gates at Locust and Race will be financed out of $600,000 in federal transportation money. The proposed overpass somewhere near Spruce is expected to cost about $2.3 million. About $1 million will come from state money provided by CSX. The remainder will come from the city.

Councilman Darrell L. Clarke said the agreement provided the opportunity to greatly increase access to and activity in the park.

Posted on March 8, 2007

Working together for Schuylkill park

By Sarah Clark Stuart

It is terrific to see how engaged people have become over planning for the redevelopment of Philadelphia's Delaware riverfront. Nevertheless, it is worth pointing out that Philadelphia's other river, the Schuylkill, has undergone years of planning. It is primed and ready for redevelopment, casino-free, and is accessible to the public.

A long-standing dispute between CSX railroad and the city had slowed the vision of the Schuylkill riverfront, but a recent agreement makes the Schuylkill ready to be reclaimed and enhanced to become a 21st-century riverfront. If this or the next mayor and City Council choose to take the opportunity, the Schuylkill has tremendous economic-development potential and could become one of the city's greatest recreational and civic assets.

For about $36 million - a modest investment compared with the city's investment of $300 million in 2000 to build the two professional stadiums - Philadelphia can complete a significant portion of the Schuylkill River Park Trail, which is planned from the Art Museum to Fort Mifflin. If it is finished to the South Street Bridge (it now stops at Locust Street) and extended to Bartram's Garden, a large chunk of the Schuylkill River Park Trail can become the city's premier recreational destination. It can offer miles of trail for pedestrians, bikers, runners and other enthusiasts seeking a safe way to exercise free of congested streets.

Residents and visitors can partake in numerous river-oriented activities, such as rowing, kayaking and fishing. The neighborhoods of Southwest Philadelphia, South Philadelphia, Center City, West Philadelphia, western North Philadelphia, and Northwest Philadelphia would be linked by recreational trails. It would also ensure that Philadelphia became part of the East Coast Greenway, a bike route being pieced together from Calais, Maine, to Key West, Fla.

There's no reason attractions that other river-oriented cities have, such as restaurant boat cruises (Paris) or a Ferris wheel (London), can't be developed. Already six residential and commercial buildings have sprung up next to the completed part of the park between the Art Museum and Locust Street. Their developers have cited the park's features in their marketing. Recreational trails are a highly valued amenity for residents and workers.

Until now, lack of street-level access to part of the park had been a deterrent, stalling its completion. But residents refused to allow this stalemate to get the best of the park. We got organized as the group Free Schuylkill River Park, allowing park users to communicate directly with CSX and elected officials to reinforce the message: Keep both crossings at Race and Locust Streets open, and make them safe.

We put enough pressure on the city to take the issue of street-level access seriously and put enough pressure on CSX to negotiate in good faith. Their agreement gives the community what it asked for and more: two state-of-the-art, safe street-level crossings to the existing Schuylkill River Park Trail and a commitment to build a pedestrian bridge farther south between the new trail and the existing park. (In addition, the railroad agreed to reroute its garbage-only trains so they don't travel next to the existing trail). This negotiated agreement is a historic breakthrough. Philadelphia and CSX butted heads over the issue for more than 10 years, and the stalemate inhibited development and investment in the park as whole.

Now that access has been resolved, Philadelphia should reinvigorate its effort to get the rest of the park built. It took more than 30 years from the time the riverfront land was purchased for the city to start building this park and get a little more than one mile constructed. It shouldn't take another 30 years to finish it.

Completing a major portion of Philadelphia's Schuylkill River Park Trail to Bartram's Garden should be part of this mayor's and the next mayor's legacy.

Editorial | The CSX Compromise

Rights of way

With the decades-old CSX Corp. freight lines running beside it, the footpath hugging the Schuylkill in Center City has had to coexist with the Philadelphia waterfront's industrial past. And it hasn't been a happy relationship - until now.

The problems arise because joggers, cyclists and others have to cross the railroad tracks to reach the trail. Doing so, they encounter freight trains at several crossings.

It's a situation that can be outright dangerous when trains are rolling between Locust Street and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Other times, it's annoying to trail users who must navigate around parked railcars (some filled with municipal waste, no less). Some trail users are foolhardy enough to squeeze through the stopped railcars - a potentially deadly practice.

Several years ago, CSX figured the only fail-safe means to protect trail users was to fence off the right-of-way - entirely cutting off the trail that traverses Schuylkill River Park. It was a bad idea, but one that prompted lengthy talks between CSX and the city administration over a compromise.

Finally, talks have produced a deal that will safeguard trail users while allowing CSX to go about the business of running a freight railroad.

The tentative agreement is deserving of Mayor Street's approval. It calls for allowing pedestrian access at two gated crossings, plus CSX help in funding a pedestrian bridge south of Locust Street. An additional rail siding also will permit CSX to reduce the number of trains left idling.

Kudos to city officials, Schuylkill River Park advocates, and railroad executives for reaching this deal. Even before now, CSX has proven a better neighbor by launching a safety campaign and posting signs directing trail users around parked trains.

Ronnie Polaneczky | Dare we celebrate sweet CSX deal?

SINCE THIS is Philly, it's way too soon to pop a cork over the good news that came out last week about Schuylkill River Park. But I'm feeling cautiously thrilled about the tentative agreement between the city and CSX Corp., which has not been an agreeable neighbor of the park.The deal, on its way to the mayor for approval, redeems CSX in a fabulous deal for park users.
Get this:  The rail company would allow street-level pedestrian crossings at Race and Locust streets, and help fund a pedestrian bridge over the tracks south of Locust.
Oh. My. God.
"I know that nothing is ever a deal until it's a signed deal," said Philly chief deputy city solicitor Michael Eichert, who's been negotiating with CSX on the rail-crossing issue. "There's still work to be done, even if it's signed."
But?
"This could be one of those times when everyone pulled together to make something great happen," he said.
The usually loquacious Sarah Clark Stuart, one of the founders of the advocacy group Free Schuylkill River Park, was also celebration-reticent.
"This has been so much work, and everyone has worked so hard," she said cautiously.
But?
"This could be one of those cases where a community stood its ground, the city backed them up, and then we made a deal that works really well for everyone."
But what she wanted to say, I could tell, was "Hooray!"
Citing safety concerns, CSX had vowed never to allow pedestrians to cross its tracks, which run parallel to Schuylkill River Park, a recreational path that runs parallel to the river on Center City's western edge.
Its trains are often parked next to the path, and pedestrians attempt to climb over or under them - a very dangerous shortcut. So CSX wanted to fence off the tracks entirely.
But that would restrict access to the park. And that was a very bad thing, given how the park had become a beloved, much-used riverfront jewel.
For nearly three years, both sides fought. A lawsuit, staged protests and testy City Council hearings ensued. And it looked like neither side would budge in a fight pitting the city against a corporate behemoth whose Florida executives didn't seem to care how their operations were impeding civic life in Philly.
A break finally came when CSX figured out that if they added a short stretch of track - just 1,000 feet - about a mile north of the park, the railroad could divert some traffic to another set of tracks, relieving congestion that caused so many cars to idle along the park.
Including those hauling smelly municipal waste, which would sit on the tracks for hours.
"Once that domino fell, everything started to move," said Bill Goetz, a CSX vice president who's been working on the access issue. "The new track will make the whole Philadelphia terminal run more smoothly."
As long as the city agreed to electronic gates at Race and at Locust, which would close while a train passed or parked, CSX wouldn't fight access any longer.
Which doesn't mean smooth sailing ahead, even if the agreement, after working its way through the city's legal machinery, gets the mayor's OK.
The pedestrian bridge still needs to be designed, fully funded and installed, and the last bits of that lawsuit resolved.
But it's good news nonetheless, a result of tenacious work by the city's Law Department, park advocates, City Council and - yes - CSX, which I've criticized many times on the access issue.
But not today. Instead, I'll honor Goetz's request to reiterate that pedestrians should never, ever try to cross a parked train.
"For us, this has always been about safety," he said. "Once that was successfully addressed, everything fell into place."

All together now: Hooray!

The Free Schuylkill River Park organization has notified its supporters that the City of Philadelphia has reached a tentative agreement with CSX to resolve a long-standing impasse over access to the park. Attempts to reach city and CSX officials yesterday were unsuccessful. The two sides have battled more than two years over pedestrian access to the green space, on the Schuylkill's east side. Rails run along the river - between residents and the park.

Emphasizing that the agreement is not "completely finalized," organization leaders notified supporters in an e-mail Friday that CSX had agreed to permit the installation of at-grade crossings at Race and Locust Streets. CSX also has agreed "to facilitate funding" of a pedestrian bridge below Locust Street; the bridge would connect an older section of the park, established about 35 years ago, to the section that opened in spring 2003, the e-mail stated.

CSX has also agreed to reroute trains that carry only garbage, the e-mail said. Residents have complained that the garbage trains sometimes sit for hours next to the park.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lea Sitton Stanley 

Schuylkill Park crossing gets tentative OK

A tentative agreement has been reached between the city and CSX Transportation, Inc. to allow pedestrian crossing of the CSX rail tracks that run adjacent to Schuylkill River Park, on the western banks of the river.

The agreement, announced yesterday by Free Schuylkill River Park, a grass-roots organization, calls for installation of at-grade crossings at both Race and Locust streets, along with a pedestrian bridge connecting both sections of the park below Locust Street.

CSX had argued against the crossings, citing safety concerns. Advocates for the park had argued for CSX to provide crossings similar to what the company has installed in other areas of the country. The tentative agreement is in the process of final approval from the mayor.

CSX vows to 'soften' effect of rail cars

No specifics were offered in the continuing dispute over trains' blocking access to Schuylkill River Park.

By Jennifer Lin

Inquirer Staff Writer

CSX officials came to City Council yesterday with a promise for angry Center City residents who don't like trains' blocking access to the new Schuylkill River Park.
They pledged to "soften the effect" of rail cars that haul garbage and sometimes sit for hours next to the park.
But the executives offered no specifics on just what that meant and skirted the more pressing issue of access to the new riverside park - a matter now in federal court.
At one point, Councilman Darrell L. Clarke asked with exasperation: "What's the point of this discussion?"

For more than a year, CSX has been locked in a legal battle with the city over pedestrian access to Schuylkill River Park. CSX has gone to federal court to force the city to build an overpass over its tracks at Locust Street. Residents and the city would rather see a cheaper alternative, such as a rolling gate.
"We're still in negotiations with the city to come to an acceptable solution," said William Goetz, a vice president in government affairs for CSX.
While wrestling the city in federal court, CSX also has been in a tug-of-war with City Council.
"All of us understand the conversation is all about access," said Councilman Michael A. Nutter, chair of Council's Transportation Committee.

The rail giant had ignored earlier subpoenas from the committee. But yesterday, the company allowed its Philadelphia superintendent, Larry Koster, to join Goetz in fielding questions.
Koster and Goetz explained that trains are "parked" by Schuylkill River Park for one of two reasons: Either crews are changing, or the railroad is adding or removing cars from trains.
Goetz said the company is exploring whether it could change crews at another location.
"We're looking at locations in and out of the city and in and out of the state," Goetz said.
Any changes, he added, would need the approval of unions that represent engineers and conductors.
Goetz dismissed questions about whether CSX could simply stop running trains on the rail line. "We can't do that," he said. "We need this capacity."
Goetz said CSX was looking at ways it could make its slow-moving waste trains less offensive to neighbors, but he was vague on details. "We're exploring things," he said after the hearing.
Although CSX has pledged to lessen the impact of garbage rail cars, its executives said nothing about the larger concern about whether rail cars with hazardous materials are being parked in crowded neighborhoods.
A community group - Free Schuylkill River Park - has documented with video clips and photographs the hazmat tankers parked in Center City.
Asked about what was shown in the clips and photos, Goetz said, "I don't know if they are or not."
He said the trash cars draw more attention. "Municipal waste trains seem to be particularly noticed by the community," he said.

Ronnie Polaneczky

Freight trains: CSX finally faces fire of angry Council

TODAY, if all goes as planned - which is not a given - some bigwigs from CSX will finally answer many probing questions from pissed-off City Council members about freight-train operations in Philly.
It didn't have to come to this.
If CSX had just allowed safe pedestrian access across its tracks at Schuylkill River Park, these Council hearings never would've been called.
Instead, by arrogantly digging in its heels, CSX has unwittingly brought upon itself a kind of scrutiny that you just don't want from Philly's City Council.
And believe me, CSX representatives deserve every hardball hurled their way today. Because what's come to light these last two months is that CSX is an even-more-contemptible corporate neighbor than we'd ever imagined.

Quick recap: Schuylkill River Park is the new, skinny recreational path that hugs the Schuylkill River from the Art Museum to Locust Street, with plans for further development south. It's separated from Center City by train tracks owned by freight-train behemoth CSX Transportation.
To get to the path, park advocates want to cross the tracks at Race and at Locust streets, via an electronic gate that will close and lock when trains are on the tracks.
CSX, citing concerns for park-user safety, wanted no pedestrian access across the tracks whatsoever, but recently agreed to the proposed gate at Race Street.
But at Locust, they have continued to insist, a pedestrian overpass is the only safe way to go.
CSX has played the safety card at every turn of park discussions, because they think Philadelphians are too dumb to see that what the company really wants: unfettered train parking on the tracks, whenever it wants, for as long as it wants.
Man, did CSX pick the wrong rubes to underestimate.
The public outcry against CSX's arrogance has been so loud and sustained, Council's Committee on Transportation and Public Utilities ordered CSX experts to explain themselves at two hearings this fall.
The experts never showed - even ignoring a subpoena to do so - but a bunch of outraged citizens did. They testified about a broad range of bad CSX behavior that never would've risen this far above the radar if the company had just given Schuylkill River Park those darn sliding gates already.
For instance, until the hearings, not everyone knew that CSX's bridges above 25th Street in South Philly and across the Schuylkill near Montgomery Drive are so thoughtlessly maintained that chunks have fallen off of them.
Not everyone knew that CSX is so poor at maintaining the land alongside its tracks that the rail beds are considered "a corridor of blight" through many neighborhoods.
Not everyone knew that CSX regularly routes hazardous materials and foul-smelling garbage throughout this city - with no neighborhood or city oversight.
Not everyone knew that CSX has allowed unlicensed billboards to be erected on its property, nor that the railroad ties along tracks running past Bartram's Gardens are allegedly so decrepit that neighbors worry about derailments - especially if the trains are carrying those hazardous materials.

But, thanks to how badly CSX has played its hand at Schuylkill River Park, we know now. And, after today's hearings - if CSX decision-makers decide to show - we should know even more.
None of which, I suspect, will earn this lousy corporate citizen any new friends in this town.
I'll admit that I know nothing about the workings of a billion-dollar corporation that runs 12,000 miles of railroad tracks through this country.
But I do know that, if you're stuck down a hole, the first thing you should do is stop digging yourself further into trouble.
CSX could do that by agreeing to grade-level access to Schuylkill River Park, the sooner the better.
It might make them a friend or two. After today's hearings, they're gonna need every friend they can get.

CSX roils New River City

By Sarah Clark Stuart

In 2003, Mayor Street announced his New River City Initiative. Its goal was to redefine and improve the city's relationship with its rivers, waterfronts and communities. Two years later, this vision is being seriously imperiled by CSX Transportation Inc. The Florida-based rail company is undermining a critical component of the River City Initiative by threatening the viability of the Lower Schuylkill riverfront. The riverfront neighborhood is booming. Edgewater, a 290-unit residential development on Race Street, is nearing completion. Mandeville Place, on Walnut Street, and South Bridge, on Schuylkill Avenue, are moving through the planning phases. These three developments will join 2400 Chestnut St., Locust Point, and Locust on the Park in increasing the residential population along the Schuylkill by hundreds - if not thousands - of taxpaying residents. In addition, the Schuylkill River Development Corp. is completing the landscaping for one of the city's newest and most popular recreational trails. It also has facilitated the installation of two public docks, at Walnut Street and at Bartram's Garden, opening up the river to tour boat operations.

Meanwhile, CSX is doing its best to hinder and diminish this booming development. Just over a year ago, in the midst of negotiations over access points into Schuylkill River Park, the railroad went to federal court seeking permission to fence off two street-level access points, at Race and Locust Streets. The rail company maintained that it was concerned about public safety. Under the scrutiny of a federal judge, the city proposed making the crossings safe for pedestrians and bicyclists by installing automatic warning-gate systems and also allowing access to emergency vehicles. (The gates would prevent people from getting onto the property and entering parked trains.) Recently, CSX conceded that it could live with an automatic rolling-gate system at Race Street, but it has resisted agreeing to a similar system at Locust Street. In court documents, CSX insisted that the only possible solution was a fixed fence with no access. So, why would it accept an automatic gate at one location, but not the other, which is less than a mile away?

I believe that CSX wants to park the freight cars that hold rotting garbage from New York City and hazardous materials, such as chlorine gas, on the rail lines on top of the Locust Street crossing. And that to preserve its ability to park freight cars for hours at a time at any hour, it is now demanding that the city build - at taxpayer expense - a pedestrian overpass at Locust Street.

An overpass would mean:

1. CSX would have carte blanche to park its freight cars longer and more frequently. There would be longer periods of loud diesel noise from idling trains near new residential developments.
2. Pedestrian access would be fair-weathered. The overpass would ice over and be impassable during winter.
3. The city would get stuck with a bill for several million dollars for the cost of building an overpass - a direct subsidy to a multibillion-dollar corporation.

If an overpass is built, the city would lose safe, street-level access through its most popular entrance point to Schuylkill River Park, rapid response by emergency vehicles to crises along the recreational path (passage under the Chestnut Street Bridge is too narrow for large vehicles), and service-vehicle access for concessions (such as kayak rentals) and special events (such as regattas).

An overpass would serve only CSX's interests at the expense of the safety and health of the city's residents. Mayor Street must stand firm and not let us be railroaded by this bully of a corporation that has little credibility or standing as a good corporate neighbor.

CSX's plan to divert the River City Initiative must be stopped, and Philadelphians should have safe and affordable access to their own park and river.

Rivers aren't CSX's

All of Philadelphia and surrounding areas are benefiting from development along the Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers. From Manayunk to Fishtown and from the South Philly piers to Center City, there is an explosion of construction, jobs and homes. Unfortunately, CSX Railroad is trying to put a stop to this development along the Schuylkill.

Instead of keeping its stationary trains in its rail yards, it is parking freight cars filled with rotting New York City garbage in front of old buildings now being developed. CSX is also parking its trains filled with hazardous materials in front of Philadelphia's newest river park, preventing thousands of people easy access to enjoy the river. If the "New River City Initiative" is really going to make a difference in Philadelphia, it is time for the city to make CSX Railroad understand that the riverfront is for the benefit of everyone, not just their corporation.

Kevin E. Gruenfeld

Philadelphia

Tracking Down Answers

Council members take CSX to task for its business practices in the city.

Council seeks to force CSX officials to testify

City Council is expected to file a motion today in Common Pleas Court to force testimony from executives of CSX Transportation Inc. over the railroad's efforts to block access to Schuylkill River Park.

Earlier this fall, the Jacksonville, Fla.-based rail company ignored subpoenas issued by Council's Transportation Committee to four local executives familiar with the railroad's Philadelphia operations. Instead, CSX designated its regional public affairs spokesman to address Council's questions. A CSX lawyer, Benjamin C. Dunlap Jr., said the company was following state rules on civil procedure.

But the action infuriated Councilman Michael A. Nutter, the committee chairman, while prompting Councilman Darrell L. Clarke to remind CSX of the city's long history of civil disobedience. CSX has sued the city in federal court, saying it's too dangerous to allow pedestrians to cross tracks at Race and Locust Streets to get to the riverfront park. Talks to settle that court dispute have hit an impasse.

"You may want to let your chairman know there's a serious storm brewing here in Philadelphia with CSX," Nutter said.

November 15, 2005
by KYW’s Mike Dunn

One month after CSX Railroad refused to take part in city council hearings on access to Schuylkill River Park, officials showed up and didn’t say much. The issue involves pedestrian access to a Schuylkill River trail connecting Center City to Kelly Drive. CSX wants to either close those entrances or build ramps over the tracks. Residents want street level access.

CSX officials refused to show up last month, claiming the matter is in litigation. On Tuesday, they sent a spokesman to the hearing who said he couldn’t say much because the matter is in litigation.
Councilman Michael Nutter and others on City Council were not amused: "There is a very serious storm brewing here in Philadelphia, because we’ve really had it with attitude and behavior. We are decent people, but we are very serious about this particular issue."

Mark Alan Hughes | TRYING TO DERAIL CSX'S ARROGANCE

STEAM locomotives used to run right down the middle of several Philadelphia streets.

We grew tired of the chaos and eventually forced the trains into the viaducts and trenches that remain in and around Center City. (You can still see several remnants. The best site for urban archaeology buffs is the immense stone "train canal" along Callowhill west of Broad, looking like a ruin from Egypt or Rome. Someday somebody's going to knock our socks off with a reuse of that cool site.)

Railroads are much weaker players now. The Pennsy was said to be the world's wealthiest private entity (second only to the monarchy) in 1890. Now, of course, it doesn't even exist.

But despite their vastly depleted gene pool, today's railroad executives can still behave as if they're the masters of the universe. You can see for yourself today at 2 in City Hall. City Council's transportation committee is holding hearings on pedestrian access to the new Schuylkill River Trail, which is often blocked by parked CSX trains.

(Full disclosure: My daughter once made a sign to protest the blockage that said "CSX SUX," which I admit to finding pretty damn clever.)

Philadelphians are starved for amenities. Most of us have lived so long with grim, Rocky-era squalor that a new lamp post or repaved street or new park bench is cause for celebration.

But quality of life is habit-forming. And we also believe we deserve improvements that rise to the level of public works, like the re-landscaping of the Swann Fountain in Logan Square and the improved streetscapes along Broad and Girard.

The Schuylkill River Trail demonstrates the payoff to well-conceived public investments. The relatively modest trail has connected many users to many destinations at all times of day and week.

Penn and Drexel students now have a safe and easy way to jog from campus to Kelly Drive. Fairmount and Brewerytown residents have a fast and scenic bike route to commute to work downtown. My own kids can walk south to their school in Fitler Square or north to their basketball games at Lloyd Hall, avoiding traffic almost all the way.

And everyone has easier access to the "hidden river," so close yet previously so far away for tens of thousands of city residents, workers and visitors.

Easier except when CSX parks trains that block the only street-level access: crossings at Race and Locust. The railroad has arrogantly tried to treat these as places where Philadelphians are crossing their tracks

Sorry. These are places where your tracks are crossing two of our streets. You'll abide by our laws and policies.

The city and a group of citizens (freetheriverpark.org) have worked hard to accommodate the railroad's needs, even getting Sen. Specter to earmark $600,000 for state-of-the-art gates and signs for the crossings at both streets.

But CSX stonewalls because it doesn't want crossings, no matter how safe. It often uses the tracks as a parking lot because of backups from trains being assembled in railyards miles away.

CSX has had years to settle this issue. Now they find themselves entering Michael Nutter's torture chamber. A councilman who's shown his disdain for the hazards of secondhand smoke is unlikely to be soft on a railroad that parks chlorine gas and New York City garbage in Center City.

CSX can be nice and give Philadelphians access to their newest park, or we can turn this into a public health and safety issue and let them route their hazardous materials through West Virginia.

CSX Railroad was a no-show Tuesday morning in Philadelphia City Council. The firm refused to take part in hearings on access to Schuylkill River Park (right).  The issue involves pedestrian access to a trail along the eastern bank of the Schuylkill River connecting center city to Kelly Drive.  Fairmount resident Paula Fein says the new Schuylkill River trail is a gem: "I walk on that trail every day. It’s a wonderful way for my daughter and I to walk to school."  But residents like Fein want to use street-level entrances to the trail at Race and Locust Streets. CSX wants to either close those entrances or build ramps over the tracks.  Russell Meddin of the group “Free Schuylkill River Park” says residents want signaled, street-level crossings at Race and Locust Streets: "…where the lights go on, the arms come down, so that you know when a train is coming. And when a train is not coming, you can cross the tracks."

Ronnie Polaneczky

City, CSX seek help on crossing dispute

They asked a federal judge to offer guidance on whether to close a road leading into a new park.

By Stephan Salisbury

Inquirer Staff Writer

The city and the CSX Transportation railroad, squabbling over the Locust Street gateway to the spanking-new Schuylkill River Park, have asked a federal judge to help them resolve their dispute.
CSX, whose tracks cross Locust Street right at the entrance to the park, wants to close off the street entirely and, in January, asked U.S. District Judge Bruce W. Kauffman to order the city not to interfere.
So far undeterred, the city has fought to keep the crossing - and direct access to the park - open at both Locust and Race Streets and has suggested installing mechanical gates and signal systems at the crossings.
In a May 17 letter delivered to Kauffman, attorneys for the city and CSX say that they have reached an agreement on the Race Street crossing but that Locust Street remains another matter.
The letter notes that Kauffman offered at a January hearing to help in "efforts to reach a negotiated settlement," and it states: "We have reached the point where we think your assistance may be helpful."
Kauffman could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Michael Eichert, chief deputy city solicitor, said both sides were seeking Kauffman's help to resolve the matter.
Robert Sullivan, a CSX vice president for public affairs, said the negotiations had seen "some movement" despite the apparent stalemate.
"Clearly, there's been movement and compromise," Sullivan said. "We've reached a point [where] there's an issue, and we have not been able to arrive at a solution."
Sarah Clark Stuart, a leader of the Free Schuylkill River Park advocacy organization, laid the blame on the railroad.
Stuart said CSX had rejected the city's offer on Locust Street.
Park advocates have said that Locust Street represents the main public route into the Center City park and that closing it off and putting in a pedestrian overpass, which the railroad has urged, would block emergency vehicles and police and make winter passage treacherous.
In a May 6 letter to the city, CSX attorney Benjamin C. Dunlap Jr., of the Harrisburg firm Nauman, Smith, Shissler & Hall L.L.P., stated flatly: "CSX cannot agree to an at-grade crossing at Locust Street as a permanent resolution of this matter."

A judge said the railroad's demand to block the way into the Schuylkill River Park was "extreme."

By Natalie Pompilio

Inquirer Staff Writer

The quickest way for Andrew Au to get from his Center City home to most anywhere - school, work or other points west - is over the CSX railroad tracks along the Schuylkill River Park.

A quick hop across the two sets of tracks yesterday and Au, 24, was strolling along the river en route to 30th Street Station, trailing a suitcase and carrying a suitbag.

"The logical thing to do is get out of the building and cut right across here," said Au, a University of Pennsylvania doctoral student.

Logical, perhaps, but railroad officials say it's not safe. That's why CSX, which operates on a right-of-way along the edge of the park, wants to install fences at the Locust Street and Race Street crossings. The Florida-based transit company filed a lawsuit Oct. 26 to try to force the city to block street-level entrances to the park at those crossings. CSX attorney Craig Staudenmaier recommended a barricade, noting that "safety trumps everything."

After a five-hour hearing last week, U.S. District Judge Bruce Kauffman said CSX was seeking an "extreme" solution to a safety issue and asked city officials to present him with alternatives this week.

Civic groups such as the Center City Residents Association and park users such as Richard Huffman say the railroad is being unreasonable.

"I can understand they're worried that someone might get hurt on the racks when trains are parked there, but there's got to be a system worked out," said Huffman, of Center City, who has done consulting work for the railroad. "The rail line runs next to a public amenity. You can't limit access."

Trains do use the tracks, but "generally they come through pretty slow. They probably go 15, 20 miles per hour," said Courtney Colton, 25, of West Philadelphia. She said she had seen people climb over stopped railcars or walk around them.

"I would think a cross bar or lights would work," she said. "I'd put more signs, something to let people know the train is coming."

If access to the park is blocked at the crossings, visitors will have to use other park entries, such as the one on Walnut Street that has a bridge over the tracks. But some park users say the steps are awkward for bikers, dog walkers and skaters.

"It would certainly be an inconvenience," Au said. "I'd probably run on the path a lot less than I do.

Railroad and city argue over access to Schuylkill Park

Citing safety concerns, CSX wants fences to block "at-grade" entries. The city prefers gates.

By Stephan Salisbury

Inquirer Staff Writer

Good fences may make good neighbors, as Robert Frost wrote, but in the case of the city and CSX railroad, barriers have turned into a thorny courtroom dispute.

CSX has asked U.S. District Judge Bruce Kauffman for a preliminary injunction blocking open street-level entrances to Schuylkill River Park at Locust Street and Race Street.

At a five-hour hearing yesterday in U.S. District Court here, Kauffman reserved a decision on the matter. He made clear, however, that CSX was seeking an "extreme" solution to a safety issue. And he urged the city and the railroad to try to reach some kind of accommodation.

CSX, which operates on a right-of-way along the eastern edge of the new Center City park, argued that nothing short of fences preventing "at-grade" access at Locust Street and Race Street would provide adequate protection to pedestrians.

"Safety trumps everything," CSX attorney Craig Staudenmaier said. "We think there should be a barricade."

City attorney Michael Eichert said the city would be willing to explore electronic gates that blocked access when trains were approaching. He argued that a permanent fence would improperly cede public streets to a private interest.

The city can provide an effective barricade, which its contract with CSX requires, with electronic gates or some similar device, Eichert argued.

Kauffman asked the city to outline its proposed alternatives to a fence within a week.

Posted on Wed, Jan. 05, 2005

'DON'T FENCE ME OUT'

WHAT'S AT STAKE IN BATTLE OVER PARK ACCESS

A U.S. District Court hearing scheduled for today promises to shape up into a classic, old-fashioned battle of people vs. big business, public vs. private rights, even good guys vs. bad guys.

It's a fight that has also generated unlikely alliances among groups not usually known for collaborating, including the Bicycle Coalition, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Philadelphia Park Alliance, state Sen. Vincent Fumo, and City Council President Anna Verna, who are all trying to join the city against Florida-based transport company, CSX, in the battle over access to Schuylkill River Park.

CSX is taking Philadelphia to court so that the city will block access to the newly opened park at two locations at Race and Locust streets. CSX train tracks lie between the riverfront park and the city, and the company doesn't want park-goers crossing the tracks, citing liability concerns.

There are other entry points to the park, but neighborhood groups argue that the Locust Street and Race Street points have been heavily used and the park's relatively isolated location argue for as many access (and exit) points as possible. The nonprofits and politicians like Fumo are trying to be recognized by the court as part of the suit so they can offer their testimony on behalf of full access.

CSX's liability concerns are not unreasonable, but cities across the country have found solutions to similar concerns.

We find it hard to believe that smart and creative minds can't find a solution to this problem.

In the past, CSX has seemed more willing to work with the city to find solutions that will satisfy all parties. After a number of meetings at which compromise seemed possible - grade-level crossing gates, overpasses and tunnels are all possibilities but have expense or maintenance issues - talks broke down.

Schuylkill River Park has quickly become a popular destination for city dwellers. Indeed, on a bleak January afternoon, we saw more than one person crossing the Locust Street tracks to get there.

Ronnie Polaneczky | CSX's concern not safety, it's parking

Center City WEEKLY PRESS
January 5, 2004 

City residents and Council members sue CSX for blocking access to Schuylkill River Park
By Alice Wells

There used to be a wild little dirt trail at the west end of Center City, snaking along the banks of the Schuylkill River. A surprising number of people knew how to get to it - through a parking lot, around this or that building, or past a lonely row of houses or factories at the foot of Race or Locust streets.

Ironically, now that the river trail has been formally developed as part of Fairmount Park, and is officially inviting people in, the completion of a new cyclone fence, that extends the length of the park, threatens to make access to the river park more difficult for the people who live closest to it, who use it the most and worked the hardest to improve it.

The first time I wandered down there, to see what was on the other side of a remote parking lot off of N. 23rd St., 35 years ago, proved a thrill of urban discovery. The back of the lot dipped down, ominously, below street level. At the far end, behind the City's brick and asphalt, was a rocky expanse of weeds and trash that camouflaged at-grade railroad tracks. No trains in sight that day. Picking my way across the tracks, I reached a strip of unruly greenery (ragged brown in the winter) and then, right there - right at my feet - were the moving waters of the Schuylkill River!

I felt positively subversive!

Then, even more than now, the banks of our city's two rivers were blocked from view by industry and concrete. No people allowed. An escape to nature meant getting in your car and going somewhere else - even Fairmount Park, along the river drives, was a driving destination for most of us.

The good news is, last spring, after myriad meetings and clean-ups, millions of dollars raised and years of design and construction, the once sketchy Center City river trail officially opened as Schuylkill River Park, sporting a clean, paved, walking and bicycling path on grassy river banks. It connects with an existing path behind the Water Works and the off-road pedestrian and bike paths along the river drives, continuing up to Valley Forge and beyond.

All that remains to finish the Locust to Vine Street park is landscaping, scheduled for next spring, to add shrubs, trees and park furnishings, creating a gracious hideaway in the heart of the City.

However, the railroad whose tracks separate the park from the City, now CSX, is concerned about safety and liability and does not want people crossing its tracks or climbing over parked trains to reach the park. A solid barrier was their requirement for allowing the park so near the tracks.

When the fence first appeared, irate Philadelphians cut through at Arch and Cherry streets as well as behind Rosenbluth Travel. Finally they settled for entering the park at official breaks in the fence at Race and Locust streets, left open for construction access. Still open, those are the primary entrance points for 80 percent of the park users, according to a recent survey. Otherwise, the park can be reached by a combination of new and improved stairs and ramps at the east ends of the Market, Chestnut and Walnut Street bridges. However, these are not convenient for people living close by, in Fitler and Logan Square neighborhoods.

This fall, CSX and the City have taken the fence to the courts. On October 26th, 2004, CSX filed a complaint against the Philadelphia Streets Department for not closing the fence, with locked gates, now that construction is complete, citing an agreement to do so made between the Streets Department and CSX's predecessor. On November 19th, 2004, CSX then asked the courts for a preliminary injunction to stop people from crossing the tracks.

On December 13th, the City of Philadelphia, representing the Streets Department, filed a motion in opposition to the CSX suit claiming that CSX cannot block City streets established in its charter to extend to the river. On December 16th, a newly formed group, Free Schuylkill River Park, filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the City, stating "We represent the users of the Park who exercise their right to use City streets to get to the Park and the River. CSX has no right to block our access to the River and the Park."

Joining them are City Council President Anna Verna, Councilmen Darrell Clarke and Jack Kelly, all as individuals, along with State Senator Vincent Fumo and State Representative Babette Josephs. Groups represented in the intervention are the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, the Bicycle Coalition of Philadelphia and the City Parks Alliance. City Council has passed a resolution in support of the countersuit, additionally citing CSX's lack of respect for Philadelphians by parking trains filled with smelly garbage along the park.

"The City's position is that safe, at-grade crossings can be built," according to Joseph Syrnick, who recently left his position as Chief Engineer and Surveyor at the Streets Department to become CEO of the Schuylkill River Development Council, which has been the force behind the development of the park over the past fifteen plus years. "The SRDC wants safe, convenient access to the park," he said.

At-grade crossings are not new in the area. They exist on the Schuylkill River bike trail in Conshohocken and at car crossings over tracks in Manayunk.

Trains on the tracks bounding Schuylkill River Park are sporadic and slow moving. Typically, the spur is used as a drop-off place for long strings of freight cars that are switching trains. Sometimes the cars sit for hours on the spur, obstructing entry to the park, periodically lurching as engines and cars are uncoupled and re-coupled.

Since federal regulations prohibit trains from blocking designated atgrade crossings when they stop, CSX would be responsible for directing its engineers to stop on either side of the park, or between Locust and Race streets. "There's plenty of room for fifty cars," said Russell Meddin, a coordinator of Free the River Park. Then people would have no reason to climb over - or under - the trains. CSX did not reply to a phone call, as of press time.

A hearing was scheduled for today, January 5th, 2005, in U.S District Court, according to Meddin, speaking at a December public meeting of the Schuylkill River Development Council.

In the meantime, CSX filed a motion on December 31, 2004, to deny Free the River Park's standing in the suit, according to Meddin. He expects that Judge Bruce Kaufman will first rule on his group's right to participate in the case and also CSX's injunction, leaving the question of a designated atgrade crossing to another date.

Nonprofits seek to join Schuylkill River Park suit

A group of nonprofit organizations filed a motion Thursday in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia seeking to join a lawsuit over access to Schuylkill River Park.

CSX, the Florida-based transport company, filed the suit Oct. 26 in an effort to force the city to block access to the park at Locust and Race Streets. CSX railroad tracks separate the park from its Center City neighborhood. The city has refused to close Locust and Race Streets where tracks cross them, and now the nonprofit groups, along with several elected officials from the area, want to add their voices to the legal contest.

"We want to make sure our interests are represented," said Sarah Clark Stuart of Free Schuylkill River Park. Her organization was joined by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Parks Alliance, City Council President Anna C. Verna, Councilmen Darrell L. Clarke, Councilman Jack Kelly, State Sen. Vincent Fumo (D., Phila.), and State Rep. Babette Josephs (D., Phila.).

A spokesman for CSX could not be reached for comment. A court hearing is scheduled for Jan. 5.

November 19, 2004

Changing Skyline | Barriers remain to public at Water Works and trail

By Inga Saffron

Inquirer Architecture Critic

Build it in Philadelphia, and people will come. Just don't count on it being easy to get in.

After decades of heartbreaking delays and comic missteps, the city recently managed to complete two related projects, the Schuylkill River Park trail and the renovation of the adjacent Fairmount Water Works. Both were immediate popular successes, the kind of projects that make you wonder how Philadelphia ever survived without them.

Yet, full public access to these two important amenities is still far from assured, despite the throngs that are drawn daily to the 1.2-mile recreation trail and the grounds of the Water Works.

It has been months since the trail officially opened, but the city and its lawyers are now in an escalating face-down with the Florida-based CSX railroad over street-level access at Locust and Race Streets. CSX wants to block people from crossing its tracks, which run parallel to the park, because it fears that someone will get hit by one of its slow-moving freight trains. The city insists that it can find a way to make the grade crossings safe. One idea is to install electronic gates and warning lights.

That sounds to me like a perfectly reasonable compromise, but CSX's response was to file legal papers in federal court demanding permanent barricades. Meanwhile, the city solicitor's office has told CSX that any unilateral attempt to shut down the park's street-level entrances would be considered trespassing. "The city expressly denies CSX the right to do so," the office warned in a Sept. 27 letter.

Things aren't so bleak at the Water Works, which is one of the Schuylkill trail's most picturesque attractions. Fairmount Park is now in the midst of selecting a restaurant operator for the complex. There are two candidates, and both have made interesting proposals to install white-tablecloth restaurants in the Engine House, the largest building in the group. Such a restaurant would go a long way toward helping the charming Water Works - home of the nation's first public water system - realize its potential as a local attraction. A decision is due in mid-December.

But not everyone can afford to dine in such restaurants, even at lunch, when entrees are expected to be priced as low as $10. So it's important that the winning candidate also be able to offer a cafe option, where visitors can enjoy the spectacular views of the Schuylkill dam and Boathouse Row for the price of a coffee.

No one is talking about shutting anyone out of the Water Works or Schuylkill park. People can always reach the river trail from the north, or by using the ramps and stairs attached to the Schuylkill river bridges. Even when a restaurant operator takes over the Engine House, the Water Works complex will remain part of Fairmount Park. The issue is really one of degree: How broad and seamless will the public's access be?

The construction of the trail, which cost more than $14 million, and the renovation of the 19th-century Water Works were accomplished largely with government funds. They are public amenities that should serve the widest spectrum of people. If they're perceived as too cumbersome to reach, or too exclusive, that undermines the whole effort.

CSX's stance on trail access has particularly enraged local residents, who have formed the Free Schuylkill River Park advocacy group. They've been lobbying hard to keep the street-level crossings open.

Initially, CSX seemed willing to look the other way while streams of people crossed its tracks at Locust and Race Streets. As part of the park project, the city built stairs and ramps over the CSX tracks at Market, Chestnut and Walnut Streets. But it's not surprising that many people still want to flow into the park from the city neighborhoods.

Hoping to thwart that natural human desire to get to the water's edge, CSX began locking the gates at its grade crossings. The only problem is that the gates aren't connected to a fence, so people simply walked around them. Lately, CSX has been parking its long freight trains on the tracks for hours at a time. The wall of train cars really does make it difficult to cross the tracks - but also more dangerous.

Since the trains sit for hours, some trail users assume it's safe to climb over the couplings or squeeze between the cars. So far, there have been no reported injuries from a sudden jolt, but it's a foolish and risky way to reach the park. Making people frustrated is simply a way of courting an accident.

Part of what makes CSX's behavior so objectionable is that railroads and waterfront parks around the country have found means for accommodation. In New London, Conn., for instance, a combined Amtrak and freight line runs alongside a city street between the downtown and a bustling ferry depot and marina. When the trains rumble through, the electronic gates come down, signaling people to wait for the train to pass.

Not only do they stand there patiently, they wave at the engineers. They do it because they know that it's only a matter of minutes before they have free access.