By William Kenny
Northeast Times
(The Northeast Times, Northeast Philadelphia’s premier weekly newspaper, afforded us the courtesy of reprinting this article).
Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell and City Councilman Bobby Henon joined other public officials to cut the ribbon on the latest addition to the North Delaware Greenway trail system on May 15 when they dedicated the new K&T Trail in a ceremony at the Frankford Boat Launch.
The K&T Trail is a 1.15-mile recreational path along the Delaware River connecting the boat launch behind the new Dietz and Watson facility at 5601 Tacony St. with Lardner’s Point Park in Tacony. Constructed over 11 months, the trail is a segment in the 11-mile greenway that remains in development along the river north of Penn’s Landing.
The Delaware River City Corporation oversees the greenway development.
“The Delaware River City Corporation was founded with a vision of connecting communities along the North Delaware and bringing people back to the underutilized and formerly inaccessible riverfront areas,” DRCC Executive Director Tom Branigan said. “The K&T Trail is a perfect example of how, by reclaiming an abandoned railroad right of way and redeveloping it for public use, we can achieve that mission.”
The multi-use trail is 12 feet wide and ends at Magee Avenue, two blocks north of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. The city managed the $2.7 million project in partnership with the DRCC. A second phase of the trail is in design and will extend it farther north to the Tacony Boat Launch at Princeton Avenue.
The trail follows the path of an abandoned freight rail line and has transformed an overgrown post-industrial landscape into a green open-space corridor along the Delaware. The project included the planting of 80 trees, 1,000 shrubs, 6,500 grasses and perennials and two acres of meadow, and the installation of 14 benches and seven trash receptacles. The trail traverses a 50-foot former railroad bridge over the remnants of the Wissinoming Creek.