New Biking/Running Trail Segment Now Open Along the Delaware

Penn Street Trail // Photo via connectthecircuit.org

Plan Philly has the scoop on a newly christened bike/pedestrian trail segment along the Delaware River, which just opened today with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The Penn Street Trail stretches from Spring Garden Street to Sugar House Casino and, while not particularly lengthy at 1,400 feet (just over a quarter of a mile), it serves as a preview for how the rest of the to-be-built, five-mile-long Delaware River Trail will look and function once it’s completed (date, TBD).

Right now, an ad-hoc placeholder trail runs on the Delaware that snakes along the waterfront and ends—or starts, depending on your point of view—at the Walmart parking lot off Columbus Boulevard. Modeled off the Penn Street Trail segment, the revamped Delaware River Trail will feature a 12-foot-wide bike path with north and southbound lanes, as well as a 10-foot-wide pedestrian path.

From Plan Philly:

More than just a path, the [Penn Street] trail includes a pocket park, street furniture and bike racks that allow users to take a break, solar-powered lighting designed to make the trail safer and more attractive, and landscaping designed to help retain storm water and prevent overwhelming the sewer system.

Read the full story, and see photos, here.