Re-imagining Infrastructure
If you have ever been to Philadelphia and walked North from city hall you know that the 676 ends up being a wall of sorts. It’s a barrier that separates communities and doesn’t add much (except for swimming that one time the schuykill river flooded) else than connecting the other highways.
Capping the 676 would help reconnect Chinatown to Callowhill and create much needed recreation space in that part of the city and let people see investments that have already been made like the rail park. This investment would help serve new communities along Spring Garden and connect Philadelphians across the city. Can you imagine what kind of pandemonium would happen if it became a better version of the greenway in Boston? We wouldn’t even have to do anything like the big dig because it’s already there!
Adding bike lines to a capped 676 would create major new avenues for transportation across Philly. If you have been to Philadelphia you might know that our infrastructure is bike friendly, but our residents sometimes are not. In the past few years there have been attempts to reconfigure major corridors like Washington Ave and to add or protect bike lanes across the city. One of my favorite examples is the work on the Delaware river which makes it relatively easy to take a ridge up to Fishtown
Another benefit of capping the highway would be helpful to support vibrant new museums like Calder Gardens that are supposed to open on the parkway in 2024. Building a green community space would help bridge Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the National Constitution Center to our other arts district. I’ve heard that the African American Museum may move and this could potentially shift that decision.
Suffice to say that it would probably cost a bunch of money, but from what I am to understand there is also federal support for this kind of project (which is supposed to be one of the easiest in the country). Another criticism for this kind of proposal is that the current structure couldn’t handle it, but I’m sure the engineers can figure it out!
-Austin Church
