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Make Schuylkill River Park Happen!

letters so far.

For nearly 10 years, volunteers in Philadelphia have been working to make the Center City side of the Schuykill River into a park. Instead of train tracks and unkempt folliage keeping you away, you'd be able to stroll, bicycle, rollerblade, and otherwise enjoy this stretch of land.

Finally the park is starting to take shape. Even though it is unfinished and difficult to access, people are strolling the park and enjoying the green space and the space along the river.

But now CSX, the owner of the train tracks, has made clear that they want a security fence between the tracks and the park. (They don't seem to feel a need for a fence between the tracks and the rest of the city.) The only access will be at the Art Museum and from the ramps on Market and Walnut. The "emergency" gates at Locust and Race will be kept locked.

This park runs through the heart of Center City West, but it won't be accessible to the neighbors without a long detour. Residents of Fitler and Logan Squares won't be able to go for a stroll through the park after work without going the long way around on busy streets to the bridge ramps.

Write Mayor Street and Council members and tell them you care about Schuylkill River Park being accessible. Don't let Philadelphia be pressured into building another half project: the right thing with a fatal flaw. City parks aren't an amenity that one should have to travel to. We deserve direct pedestrian access at regular intervals along the park!

Sincerely Yours,

Jeff Abrahamson jeff@purple.com