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07/15/2002 Juniata (Ed Goppelt)

• Photos
• Parks News

At its southern end, the Tacony Creek Park system is known as 'Juniata Park.' Most of Juniata Park is dedicated to use as a public golf course, but scraps of park land, such as Fisher's Lane, remain.

I'd like to thank Mark Focht, NLREEP director and Fred Maurer of Friends of Tacony Creek for their help in preparing this piece. These two men would seem to agree on nothing at all (see See Maurer v. NLREEP), with one exception: they both care deeply about our parks. Focht took time out of his day to review and comment on these photos for which I am profoundly grateful.

Note: NLREEP Director Mark Focht's comments are printed in red.

Note: for the sake of those with slow Internet connections, pictures are displayed at their smallest possible size. To enlarge the photos, simply click on the size controls under any photo.

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Gully Repair at Fisher's Lane
2002/07/15 Illegal short dumping at the intersection of 'I' and Ramona streets. Park staff works regularly with volunteers to remove debris from this site. M.F.

Maurer was very critical of this gully repair, saying in effect that it didn't work.

"False." says Mark Focht. "I know it works. I've been there."

Maurer specific charges were that:

1. The repair redirected water that otherwise would have flowed into the city sewer system, back into the park. Maurer argued, in effect, that the repair did the exact opposite of what it was supposed: it increased erosion and made the gully worse.
2. During construction hundreds of trees planted by NLREEP staffer Jackie Olson and schoolkids were uprooted.
3. The project was not properly engineered or supervised leading to the bad result.
4. The contractor cut corners on workmanship and materials. For example, Maurer felt the contractor should have used gravel, rather than concrete chips, to dissipate the outflow.
5. The contractor built the curb was too high, in violation of City regulations.

If Fred is referring to the infiltration trench (outfall shown in 113-1376), the system is working as designed to handle stormwater runoff from the adjacent paved streets and infiltrate it back into the ground, as opposed to allowing to to cascade down the hillside, eroding the slope and carrying sediment into the stream. This project did not impact plants previously installed by volunteers adjacent to the site. M.F.

According to Focht, previously water had pooled at the cul-de-sac at 'I' and Ramona Street. During heavy storms, water would jump the curb and descend in sheets carving a gully as it went.

Far from being a shoddy job, the contractor, Biohabitats installed what amounted a high tech drainage system. The 200' pipe actually had holes in it and followed land contour lines--the point being to gradually dissipate as much water as gently as possible. This was news to Maurer, who apparently felt the contractor had installed so much piping as a way to pad the job. The outflow would only be used in cases of heavy rain fall to handle any overflow left over. The curb was raised to prevent water from escaping down the creek bank as before.

Focht also denies Maurer's assertion that the project lacked proper supervision. "Natural Lands Restoration Manager Tom Whitmer is responsible for administering contracts. Tom is extremely diligent."

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Close Up of Fischer's Lane Grate
2002/07/15

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Fisher's Lane
2002/07/15 Fisher's Lane near the intersection of "I" and Ramona streets. This are of the park is dominated by the invasive plants Japanese Knotweed and Kudzu. Park staff works with contractors and volunteers to control the invasive plants, but it is a difficult job. The paved road, closed to vehicular traffic, provides pedestrian access to northern sections of the park. M.F.

According to Maurer, when it was open people used Fisher's Lane as a short cut to Sears and the Boulevard.

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Bad Plants
2002/07/15 Group of non-native plants, including Burdock (purple flowers), Kudzu and Mile-a-minute (the last two of which are very invasive.)

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Invasive Plants Overshadow Fisher's Lane
2002/07/15 Maurer says that NLREEP staffer Jackie Olson cleared out this area two years ago, but that her work has not been maintained since she did the project.

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Juniata Golf Club
2002/07/15 Fairmount Park owns several golf courses, including Juniata Golf Club. FPC used to operate the golf courses itself, but in 1985 it granted a 25 year concession to US Golf run the golf courses.

A 1999 report issued by the City Controller criticized Fairmount Park management for not acting quickly enough to terminate US Golf's contract when it became apparent the company was not taking good care of the courses.

It took Fairmount Park managers 10 years to get rid of its non-performing concessionaire. As a result the courses suffered significant erosion, severely worn fairways and greens, and dangerous, deteriorated bridges.

In 1997 a new contract was awarded to Meadowbrook. Although this contract actually brings in a fair amount of money--$1.3 Million in FY 2002--the Park isn't allowed to keep any of it. Any money Fairmount Park earns goes back to City coffers for other non-park uses.

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Green at Juniata Golf Club
2002/07/15 According to parks volunteer Fred Maurer, Juniata is in much better shape since the new cocessionaire--Meadowbrook--took over in 1999.

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Frankford Creek at Confluence of Frankford and Tacony Creeks
2002/07/15 This photo was taken a top of a storm water run-off pipe. It smelled like a sewer. And for good reason: as an older city, Philadelphia has a combined sewer overflow (CSO) system. The idea is that most of the time run off from the street as well as raw sewage from homes goes directly to a sewage treatment plants. When there's heavy rain, however, the system is designed to send excess dirty water directly into nearby streams such as the Tacony. According to Maurer, even when the sewage system is not overflowing, sewer gas travels through the overflow pipe leading to unpleasant odors.

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Swastika Painted on Sewer Pipeline
2002/07/15

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Tacony Creek, Just before It Empties into Frankford Creek
2002/07/15 According to Maurer, the milky appearance of the water in the center of the creek is a sign of sewage contamination.

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Outfall of Fisher's Lane Grate
2002/07/15 The outfall of an infiltration structure installed by FPC to capture stormwater runoff from the adjacent streets and allow it to percolate back into the ground, as opposed to eroding the adjacent hillside. M.F.