Tom Branigan, executive director of the Delaware River City Corporation, gave an update on his group activities at last week’s Holmesburg Civic Association meeting.
Using a slide show presentation, Branigan said the proposed Bridesburg Riverfront Park is about three years and $5 million to $7 million away from becoming a reality.
“It will be a pretty nice destination for a lot of people in the Northeast,” he said.
Branigan added that a 1.1-mile riverfront trail, located near the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge and areas south of it, should be completed by the spring of 2017.
A trail from the Pennypack Creek to Pleasant Hill Park is scheduled for a Labor Day opening. Land acquisitions are needed for additional trails, he said. Also, plans are in the works to connect Magee Avenue from the riverfront to the Tacony neighborhood.
The DRCC plans a 5k run/walk later this year. It will also present free movie nights in the summer at Pennypack on the Delaware park.
In other news from the Jan. 12 meeting:
• Members voted in favor of telling City Councilman Bobby Henon that they want “No Truck Parking” signs on both sides of Torresdale Avenue, from Rhawn Street to Enfield Avenue, 24 hours a day. Pickup trucks would be allowed to park.
Other options that were rejected were allowing parking on one side of the street and prohibiting parking only from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The discussion followed a Dec. 20 high-speed crash that killed three women who were traveling north on Torresdale Avenue, just north of Rhawn Street. The driver crashed into a parked tractor-trailer.
Some neighbors suggested that the trucks park in the lot at the closed Pathmark at 8700 Frankford Ave.
• Common Pleas Court has overturned a Zoning Board of Adjustment decision that rejected a proposal for a one-chair hair salon for men, women and children at 8160 Terry St. (at Welsh Road). The property had been a barber shop years ago, and civic members unanimously voted in favor of it at their January 2015 meeting. The owners appealed the ZBA ruling, and a judge sided with them.
• Representatives of the two Town Watch groups that patrol the neighborhood cautioned people against believing what one called the “sob stories” of some of the aggressive panhandlers who station themselves outside stores.
Town Watch also reported that vehicle break-ins are on the rise.
• The Holmesburg Post Office, 8232 Frankford Ave., has reopened. The site was closed after a motorist accidentally crashed through the front doors just days before Christmas.
• Holmesburg Civic Association will meet again on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 7:15 p.m. at Holmesburg Recreation Center, at Rhawn and Ditman streets. ••
