This Drone Footage of the Rail Park Will Fuel Your City-Running Daydreams

This drone footage is the stuff city running and cycling dreams are made of.

I can’t resist going to the High Line every time I visit New York. And every single time, I am reminded that, while it’s a lovely idea in theory, in reality, it’s a bad idea: It’s kind of like going to Reading Terminal at lunchtime. It’s packed with people, both city dwellers and tourists, all moving at a glacial pace in a confined space. Not pleasant.

I’m hoping that Philly’s Rail Park, a three-mile elevated park currently under construction for its first phase — a short and sweet .25-mile stretch starting in Callowhill — will be … different. And given that we aren’t New York, I’m sure it will be. As the website for the park, the first phase of which is expected to open in early 2018, states, “The Rail Park is a vision for a greenway that will serve pedestrians, bicyclists, neighbors and visitors alike.” So, unlike the High Line, they’re anticipating people embracing the elevated park with modes of transportation beyond just moseying along.

Personally, what I’m most excited about when it comes to the Rail Park is the green escape it will give city runners. Because those grey sidewalks can get old real quick. Earlier this week, the folks over at Curbed Philly pointed out drone footage from Philly by Drone, shot on August 1st — set to some very soothing Anthony Hamilton music — of the currently under construction Rail Park, and let me tell you: It is two minutes and 32 seconds chock full of the stuff city running and cycling daydreams are made of. So watch it below, then imagine yourself plodding or pedaling along the elevated parks eventual paths. (We won’t tell your boss if you escape reality for a few minutes.)

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