Riverfront North Partnership officials and others gathered at Lardner’s Point Park, 5202 Levick St., on Monday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking of the K&T2 trail segment.
The 0.6-mile trail segment is the newest addition to Riverfront North’s planned 11-mile network of trails and parks along the Delaware River. When complete, it will connect Lardner’s Point Park at the base of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge to the Tacony Boat Launch, via a 12-foot-wide multi-use trail.
This trail also serves as a link in the Circuit Trails, a multi-use trail network in Greater Philadelphia and South Jersey that includes more than 375 miles of completed trails. The K&T Trail extension closes a gap in the Circuit Trails network, bringing it closer to reaching the goal of building 500 miles of completed trail by 2025.
The trail is also a segment for the East Coast Greenway, a 3,000-mile trail from Florida to Maine.
Riverfront North board chairman Bob Borski and executive director Stephanie Phillips were joined by Patrick Starr, executive vice president of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council and co-chair of the Circuit Trails; U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle; Kathryn Ott Lovell, commissioner of the city Department of Parks and Recreation; City Councilman Mike Driscoll; state Sen. Jimmy Dillon; state Rep. Joe Hohenstein; Liz Gabor, vice president for development at Link Logistics Real Estate; and Jane Golden, executive director of Mural Arts Philadelphia.
The theme of the day was continued access to the river after decades of neglect.
“We should be very proud of what God has given us,” Boyle said.
Lovell credited Borski and Phillips for their ambition, vision and leadership, adding that the Riverfront North team does its work quietly.
“It’s a small but mighty organization,” she said.
Driscoll said Riverfront North works on “transformational” projects. The newly elected Dillon took a recent waterfront tour with Borski and described the river as a “priceless resource.” Hohenstein is a member of the House Fish and Game Committee, adding that Riverfront North has completed a “string of pearls” that has allowed people to enjoy fishing and other recreational activities.
Starr said, one day, people will be able to bike on a continuous trail from the Northeast to Canada or Key West.
Gabor said Link Logistics, which is building a warehouse at 7101 Milnor St., donated a portion of its ground for use as a trail.
For more information on trails, visit RiverfrontNorth.org. ••
