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07/15/2002 Adams Ave. (Ed Goppelt)

• Photos
• Parks News

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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Adams Ave. Bridge
2002/07/15 Woody debris that was trasnported downstream during storms, lodged against the Adams Ave. bridge. M.F.

According to Friends of Tacony President Chuck Younger, there have been several drownings at this location. Despite park officials' efforts to discourage swimming the area continues to be used as a beach by the area's Puerto Rican community. Maurer mentioned another reason people shouldn't swim here: because Philadelphia has a combined sewer overflow system, raw sewage (i.e., fecal matter straight from toilets) is sometimes discharged directly into the creek.

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Tacony Creek Footbridge at Adams Ave.
2002/07/15

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Former Site of "The Bridge to Nowhere"
2002/08/31 "The Bridge to Nowhere" is how NLREEP consultant, Andropogon Associates, referred to the footbridge that once stood at this site. Maurer originally contacted me because he felt that the footbridge, which was identicial in appearance to the one in the preceding photo had been improperly removed. He made a number of charges:

1. The community had not had sufficient say into the decision to remove the bridge.
2. NLREEP had no valid reasons for removing the bridge.
3. NLREEP had not followed the proper procedure city agencies must follow in order to destroy a capital asset. Maurer valued the bridge at $250,000.

In my opinion, there were good answers to each of Maurer's complaints:

1. 3 public meetings had been held informing the public of NLREEP's plans, a fact which Younger confirmed.
2. The bridge was not destroyed, but removed to storage for future use.
3. According to Younger, there were good reasons for removing the bridge, namely to maintain the wetland, to eliminate a bad crossing and a bad path, and to stop ATVs.

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A Dangerous Crossing
2002/07/15 According to Friends President Younger, the bridge south of Adams was removed to discourage ATVs coming down this road from attempting to cross Adams Ave., a heavily travelled thoroughfare.

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A NLREEP Knotweed Removal Project near the "Bridge to Nowhere"
2002/07/15

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Paved Trail by Adams Ave.
2002/07/15 Park area with paved recreation trail on the east side of Tacony Creek, north of Adams Ave. M.F.

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Paved Trail
2002/07/15 Many of the improvements in this part of the park were done for the Bicentennial in 1976. Maurer likes the bicentenial era trash basket, which he says people are less likely to steal and which is easier to get equipment under.

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View from the Trail
2002/07/15 Tacony Creek streambed choked with non-native Japanese knotweed. FPC staff is working with contractors and volunteers at selected sites to control this highly invasive plant. M.F.

Focht sees weeds, but I still think this is beautiful.

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Footbridge to West Side of Tacony Creek
2002/07/15

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Tacony Creek from the Bridge
2002/07/15

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Catulpa Tree
2002/07/15 Northern Catulpa tree's fruit capsule. Plant is native to U.S., but not to the Philadelphia area. M.F.

They say America is a nation of immigrants. Apparently this applies to our trees, too. I don't think the fact that certain plants are non-native should disqualify them from being in our parks.

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Bicentennial Era Exercise Station
2002/07/15 These exercise stations were all the rage a couple of decades ago. Tacony has 8 or so of them, most of them gradually disappearing into the earth, like this one.

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Park User Enjoys the Creek
2002/07/15 Should park users swim or even go wading in Tacony Creek? The wrong kind of public uses can be hard on the Park's ecosystem, but if people aren't allowed to enjoy the Park, what's the point?

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Cyclist Crossing the Bridge
2002/07/15 According to parks volunteer Chuck Younger dirt bikes are harder on the environment than they realize. In this case, the cyclist is in the right place: on an approved, paved trail.