October 11, 2024
Michaela Althouse/PhillyVoice
Bikers approach the new connection between the Pennypack Trail and Pennypack Path. There is now a 10.3-mile seamless trail running from the Delaware River in Northeast Philly to Bucks County.
The Pennypack Trail now connects to the Pennypack Path, creating a seamless 10.3-mile trail running from the Delaware River in Northeast Philadelphia to Bucks County.
A $1.3 million project to connect the trails in Holmesburg is finished. A concrete island was placed in the middle of State Road to allow cyclists and pedestrians traveling between the Pennypack Trail and Pennypack Path to safely cross the road. The project included upgraded traffic signals, ADA-accessible ramp installations, green stormwater infrastructure and new sidewalks.
"This intersection was challenging for trail users to navigate and prevented access to two major Northeast parks, the Pennypack Park and Pennypack on the Delaware," Parks and Recreation Commissioner Susan Slawson said. "By improving these trail connections, more Philadelphians and visitors to our city can safely access our park and recreation resources."
The intersection runs under Interstate 95, not far from near the Cottman Avenue ramps and where the highway partially collapsed after a truck caught fire underneath it in 2023.
Bikers travel across a new concrete island at State Road, heading into Pennypack Park in Holmesburg.
Pennypack Trail runs through Pennypack Park to Bristol Road in Bucks County. The Pennypack Path is much shorter, running from State Road to the edge of the Delaware River in Pennypack on the Delaware. It also connects with the Baxter Trail, which extends into Pleasant Hill Park in Holmesburg.
Councilmember Mike Driscoll, a Democrat who represents District 6, which includes Pennypack Park, said he hopes the improvements can help connect neighborhoods that I-95 cut off when it was built between 1959 and 1979.
"That structure called I-95, while it's a wonderful way to get through Philadelphia from New York to Washington, it actually did hurt our neighborhoods," Driscoll said. "It blocked a lot of our neighborhoods from connecting back to the river. ... (Together), we've been able to break down these barriers and get these neighborhoods back to these trails so that they can bike and walk and see the beautiful riverfront that we haven't been showing for the last 50 years."
Parks and Recreation also is working to extend two other trails, with both projects set to conclude next year. The first will close a gap in the Tacony-Holmesburg Trail from the Tacony Boat Launch to Pennypack Park. The second will extend the Schuylkill River Trail from Christian Street to the Grays Ferry Crescent.
