With the help of volunteers,
tree-planting takes root

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Even the most ardent proponents of waterfront development understand that it’s a long-term project.
The finished product is expected to feature housing, recreational trails, access roads and green space.
The development has to start somewhere, and the area from Devereaux to Robbins avenues received a big boost last week with the planting of 300 trees.
"This is one good-sized step forward," said Tom Dougherty, stewardship coordinator for the Fairmount Park Commission.
The spring plantings were conducted by the Pennypack Environmental Council and the Northeast Riverfront Task Force on Friday and Saturday. The park commission trained and supervised volunteers from Americorps and Abraham Lincoln High School and community organizations in Tacony, Wissinoming and Bridesburg, who planted native trees and shrubs.
The plantings address degradation from years of industrial use and the invasive plant species. They will reduce soil erosion and act as a filter from rainwater runoff.
The trees will provide nesting areas for birds and other wildlife. And the shade they’ll provide will cool the water, making the Delaware River a better habitat for fish.
"This is kind of symbolic for what the entire stretch could look like," Dougherty said.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection funded the plantings. The manual labor of digging and planting was done by local volunteers and Americorps members from all over the country.
"We’re really grateful for it," said Bob Borski, a former congressman and chairman of the riverfront task force. "It’s really going to be a nice, sweet spot."
The riverfront advocates are also monitoring a number of other initiatives. They include a northward expansion of Delaware Avenue, perhaps to Bridge Street; a 12-foot-wide asphalt bike and pedestrian trail from Penn Treaty Park in Fishtown to Linden Avenue; access roads at Levick Street, Magee Avenue and Princeton Avenue; and a 4.5-acre park on land immediately south of the Tacony Palmyra Bridge.
Carolyn Wallis, southeastern Pennsylvania director of community redevelopment programs for the environmental council, envisions a green corridor, better water quality, improved ecology and a reconnect between neighborhoods and the river.
"We’re very excited," she said. "This natural asset is phenomenal for the city."
The proposals are attracting the interest of the big-money people.
"This is bringing developers in," Borski said.
There might be some office space or small retail built near the river, but residential housing is the biggest chunk of the development. There’s plenty of retail space on Torresdale and Frankford avenues, officials point out.
Houses are planned near Orthodox Street, Magee Avenue and Rhawn Street. Borski said the homes should sell in no time, noting that new construction is popular right now in Philadelphia.
"As soon as something new goes up, bang, they’re gone," he said, adding that property values in adjacent neighborhoods should rise.
Borski worked hard to develop a plan for the river in the years before leaving Congress in January 2003. He envisions a "new river city."
The Delaware River waterfront is for fishing, biking, jogging, walking and living, not shopping, in Borski’s opinion. Some of the prime space in other sections of the city is wasted by retail, he said.
Many years ago, Philadelphians had easy access to the river. That’s not true anymore, thanks to a highway and industry.
One notable exception is the Pennypack on the Delaware, a beautiful, well-used park just north of Rhawn Street. Borski, who lives in Torresdale, wants to see more of that.
"(Interstate) 95 really segregated us from the river," he said. "We want to put it back the way it was." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com