This is the City's idea of maintaining open space. Allow the open space to produce 'income' for the general fund. Don't allow the commerialization of Fairmount Park or the Wissahickon Park section of Fairmount Park. This open space makes Philadelphia extremely unique among world cities. Let's keep that uniqueness.

The city makes plenty of money off of assets within Fairmount Park - Horticulture Center, Tea House, Memorial Hall, party/picnic/photo permits, etc... This proposal is an expansion of it's assets. Why don't they just lease mineral and timber rights while they're at it?

Don't be so pessimistic. This will draw people to the outdoors more than ever, and there's nothing wrong about that. You'd be surprised how many people in the Philadelphia Area have never even been to the Wissahickon! Its one of Philadelphia's greatest hidden gems, and a big playground for those who are passionate about the outdoors. Many don't know that the Wissahickon Park has been struggling for funding for years. Establishing this type revenue to support the maintenance, preservation and security in the park is an innovative and fantastic idea.

This thing will probably be used for a while but ultimately will rot and become an eye sore. Leave the park alone.

This isn't a proposal for parks and rec to build it. They want to allow an outside company to build, maintain and profit from it. The city would make $50,000.00 a year. But the outside company would be potentially making over a million annually.

which politicians have a stake in this outside company building this thing? who in the world would pay $35-$55 to use this park? this will be a big money loser.

I think this is a great idea! There are not enough outdoor activities around here. This would encourage people from the neighborhood, as well as outsiders, to come visit the park and do something different. I'm sure you would still be able to visit the park itself free of charge, just pay for the course. It sounds like fun and good exercise for everyone. I'm all for it!!

I would be all for this project were in NOT in the park. There are plenty of other places they could do this. Venice Island, for example.

Excited. I hope they have a rock climbing wall.

Michelle, you can rock climb for free at Livezey Rock in Wissahickon park, plus there are many other free climbing areas locally. As for pay rock climbing, there are a few great climbing gyms in and around Philly.

I can remember when you could camp along the wissahickon and have a campfire. You could go down to "the crick" the night before opening for fishing. You would see 100's of campfires along the stream and in the woods. Opening day, fishermen would line both sides of the wissahickon. Sometimes close to 1000 would be seen all day.
I believe those days are long over so I think the park needs to reinvent itself as long as the money flows back into it. So if a hi-line will help do that, power to them.

I'm glad they don't still have camping in the park today. I can imagine the garbage and the smoke.

I doubt the park will see any of the money from this. Am I correct?

Parks and rec is are not the ones that will actually build it. It will be a private company using the area, building it, running it, and profiting from it. Charging between $35-$55 a person is over a million a year to a private company. PPR will get approximately 50,000 of that. Roughly less than 5%. Added to that they want to build it near the field saul uses, and an area where scouting and youth organizations have activities going year round, it's not a good place or idea. They tried two years ago to put it in Pennypack Park and the community said no. So now they're trying to put it in the middle of our part of Fairmount park wissahickon park.

The wissahickon needs nothing to draw people to her. She is plenty attractive just the way she is. Selling your soul, thats what this is. The Wissahickon is the heart & soul of the folks who have referred to her as "back the crick" for a lifetime. Families have grown up here. She should not be betrayed She is a natural landmark & should be preserved as such. Using the public land for profit, nah, that doesnt work. The city can find other ways. Philadelphia Parks & Rec or is it WRECK????

We cannot allow this to happen to our Crick. We have to stop it.

There's no parking back there now!! Both sides of the creek, Roxborough and Mt. Airy/Chestnut Hill, are residential. Fairmount Park was willed to the city with certain stipulations that the Fairmount Park Commission kept in check. Its ashame people voted that Phila. Parks & Recs take over the Park. its been down hill ever since. Now, the park looks a mess, crime has risen, there's graffiti on the rocks by GDRG off of Kelly Dr. , it's disgraceful. The police specifically assigned to the park are gone. I'm on Forbidden Dr. often, and there are cars that illegally drive through. To have outsiders run a zip line through a park as beautifull as the Wissahickon Valley, Fairmount Park is ridiculous. Shame on our mayor is he allows the commercialization of our park.

If you are opposed to having this project diminish our park, please support the newly formed "Alliance for Preservation of the Wissahickon" by visiting apowblog.org AND please 'LIKE' the FB page at "Save WIssahickon Park". It is the initial project of the group to stop the development of the zipline/treetop adventure course at Wigard and HEnry Ave. Thank you for being a part of the solution!