The Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk Extension

Schuylkill Banks Trail & Bridge – Seen From South Street Bridge

‘Bridging the Gap – South Street Bridge to Major Bike Trail’

The time has finally come to take a stroll on the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk. It will be like walking on water with the sparkling lights of the Center City skyline in the background.

The Boardwalk is the first extension of the Schuylkill River Trail in ten years, completed in October 2014, which connects the City’s South Street Bridge to a very popular trail at Locust Street.

This new stretch of super walkway is 15-foot-wide and more than 2,000 feet long, bringing people closer to the Schuylkill River. Depending on the tides, the walkway will hover six to 12 feet above the water and is designed to withstand the flooding that happens off and on. The ramp and boardwalk are designed to accommodate emergency and maintenance vehicles.

The original Schuylkill Banks trail was completed a decade ago. While it was constructed out of a narrow piece of land on the Schuylkill side of the railroad tracks, the path had to stop at Locust Street because there wasn’t a wide-enough strip beyond that point for it to continue to South Street.

Throughout the years, the trail had become very popular, with more than 19,000 users every week throughout the parks trail, and the city had to look for ways to extend this trail from the Center City area at Locust Street along the Schuylkill River to extend into South Philadelphia. After many suggestions, the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, which manages the trail, came up with an ingenious solution. Push the trail out into the water on a highway-style causeway.

As you look at this 2,000 foot long piece of art, one might say, “Gee, it looks crooked, why didn’t they build it perfectly straight?”

When designing this path, the designers wanted to break it up some, giving it a look that would reflect the banks of the river itself.  There are four areas of the boardwalk that widens to 23 feet to provide overlooks where people can sit or fish.

One thought to ponder about this great design is that there could be user problems as the boardwalk gains in popularity. Even though the boardwalk is 15 feet wide instead of the trails 11 feet, there won’t be any place for a cyclist or jogger to quickly veer around pedestrians as one could on the trails grassy shoulder. Time will tell.

Check out the time lapse of the construction of the Boardwalk. Click Here

Don’t miss the Boardwalk’s ribbon cutting ceremony tomorrow, Thursday, October 2, starting at 11:30 am and the Community Celebration on Sunday, October 5th, from 1 pm to 3 pm.