On the evening of Wednesday, March 21, more than thirty local residents gathered in a conference room of Penn Treaty Park Place on Delaware Avenue. They were joined by representatives from URS Corporation, the New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC), the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC), Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), and Studio|Bryan Hanes. Just as it always is with neighborhood community meetings, residents came armed with questions about a lot of issues. However, the purpose of this meeting was to discuss and confirm final community design choices for improvements to I-95 between Shackamaxon Street and Columbia Avenue. Attendees were also asked to help select final design choices for DRWC’s “Connector Street” projects. These projects include enhanced lighting and wall treatments for Columbia, Shackamaxon, and Marlborough I-95 underpasses that lead to Delaware Avenue (and hopefully, eventually the Delaware River) in Fishtown.

Ultimately, this venture is part of DRWC’s Master Plan for the Central Delaware to transform the city’s waterfront. As we have reported on in this paper several times, folks at the DRWC want to open access of the river to Philadelphia’s residents. They have been making headway these past few years. Sarah Thorp, the Master Planning Manager at DRWC, opened Wednesday’s meeting by explaining the progress being made specifically to the underpasses noted above. She also spoke briefly on the walls that will be installed on I-95 to cut down noise from the highway to residents.

With all of this pending construction and refurbishment on and around the highways and streets, PennDOT is heavily involved in this project. URS Corporation, an engineering, construction and technical services organization, is under contract to PennDOT to design the new I-95/Girard Avenue Interchange, which will include the sound walls. URS is also involved in designing the community-related improvements along and under I-95 that will make it easier to travel from the neighborhoods to the river. The project also includes the reconstruction of I-95 between Race Street and Ann Street.

According to Eugene Blaum, Assistant Press Secretary for PennDOT, “The I-95/Girard Avenue Interchange Improvement Project was programmed primarily to replace deteriorating bridge structures and pavement on I-95.  The incorporation of sound walls in the project is required by federal environmental regulations to mitigate the environmental effects of sound on nearby neighborhoods.”

Blaum also stated, “PennDOT is developing its improvement plan in accordance with the DRWC’s master plan provisions.  PennDOT’s relationship with DRWC is important, as is the Department’s relationship with the other community and neighborhood organizations along this part of I-95.”

One of those organizations is NKCDC, who have been a catalyst for sustainable development and community building in the area for over twenty years. Janice Reese, Community Relations Specialist at NKCDC, was on hand at the meeting with Deputy Director Shanta Schachter. Reese described NKCDC’s part in this project, stating, “NKCDC’s role has been to facilitate communication and outreach for impacted residents, and to ensure that their voices are taken into account and concerns heard throughout the process.”

Residents did have some concerns at the meeting but all in all, say there were very few people who had a negative reaction to this particular project.

On PennDOT’s behalf, Eugene Blaum expressed satisfaction in neighbor feedback and involvement, stating. “The local neighbors and communities are engaged in the project and are bringing a very positive attitude to PennDOT as it pertains to this project.  The Department’s design team is receiving very specific comments that will assist us in developing the design plan for this part of I-95.  The community organizations have also played a pivotal role in disseminating I-95 project information throughout the nearby neighborhoods.”

On Wednesday evening, local neighbors were shown images of the current state of the underpasses and the proposed designs that may line the walls in the future. These conceptual images were provided by Studio|Bryan Hanes. Hanes explained that designs on the walls on the underpasses on Shackamaxon and Marlborough would be fairly simple designs that would simulate waves and water, giving a calming implication to neighbors that they are nearing the Delaware River. The Columbia Avenue underpass would be more “Fishtown-centric”, as Bryan put it, with fish imagery incorporated into the design. Reason being that the Columbia underpass would be more of a throughway that residents from the neighborhood would take to reach the river.

The designs would be made of a form liner with texture formed into the concrete. One reason these designs are fairly simple is so that they are easily repairable if tagged with graffiti. Hanes’ conceptual pieces also showed drastically increased lighting that would give high visibility and increased safety to those traveling through the underpasses on foot. The underpasses would be monitored constantly for defacement and broken lights. There would also be a consistent color scheme for restoring defaced walls if need be.

Aside from the underpasses, residents were also shown conceptual images of the areas surrounding the areas and I-95 sound walls. These images focused on greenery and a beautification element.

After attendees looked at Hanes’ designs, the floor was opened by Thorp for a brief discussion. Some residents had concerns about general construction mess like dust and mud control. URS representatives assured that these concerns were duly noted and they would address the conditions of all construction sites once the project is physically underway. After questions, neighbors were asked to address their concerns one-on-one with representatives on hand. They were also asked to look at the proposed designs for the underpasses and sound wall plans and mark the options they liked and disliked with red stickers.

“Residents are telling us in community meetings that it is important for them to have safe access to the river,” said Blaum, “Therefore, we are working to design the I-95/Girard Avenue project to incorporate pedestrians’ enhancements such as walkways, local street improvements and lighting to provide safe access for pedestrian.  Safe pedestrian access is also a key component of the DRWC master plan as well.”

Janice Reese addressed the safety element of the project, saying, “From what we’ve seen, residents are excited about safety features like increased lighting.  As with any project this size, the main concern we are hearing is how the various phases of construction might impact the community. “

Reese added, “The Delaware River is one of the greatest public assets this city has to offer.  Safer access to the waterfront is important in order to encourage use and foster a sense of pride in the community for its historic relationship to the river.”

Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “Who hears the rippling of rivers will not utterly despair of anything.”

Only time will tell if the residents of Fishtown and Philadelphia will gain open access to the Delaware River. However, with so many organizations involved, it seems the community’s voice is finally being heard. Additional information on this project and others can be found at PennDOT’s I-95 website: www.95revive.com.