Wissahickon Sign Crushed on Ridge Avenue
Roxbororough figures a contingency plan for 'gateway' sign.
Photos
The Wissahickon sign along Ridge Avenue that alerts drivers to "the gateway to Roxborough" got crushed overnight Thursday due to unknown circumstances.
Installed earlier this year, the Wissahickon sign—located at Ridge and Rochelle streets—arrived with the streetscape project along Ridge Avenue.
Roxborough residents discovered the sign dismantled Thursday. Just hours earlier, at the Wissahickon Interested Citizens Association meeting Wednesday, residents hailed the sign as a beautiful entrance to the 19128 zip code and as a thoroughfare to Ridge Avenue.
The destruction's cause appears to be a mystery, leaving the neighborhood to pick up the pieces.
So what happens next?
First, the debris will be cleared from Ridge Avenue.
In the interim, the Roxborough Development Corporation will mask the damage until a replacement occurs, if at all. Organizers plan for shrubs to accomplish at least an aesthetic island as a substitute for the "Wissahickon" sign. Residents will work to either rally for a new sign or determine an alternative, according to emails shared with Patch.
Funding for the sign came from the $2.2 million allocated for Ridge Avenue from federal, state and city projects. It's currently unknown if the sign—which has a "Roxborough" signage counterpart at Ridge and Hermit—will be replaced.
NoneOfYourBusiness
8:34 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
Unbelievable! Why can't we ever have anything nice around here! It looks like someone ran over it with a giant dump truck or something! WTF
Debbie Thomas
10:46 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
Definitely. You can see the tire tracks. Wonder if it was intentional or an accident.
jim
7:45 am on Sunday, September 16, 2012
Debbie you must be retarded! Who would ruin their vehicle on purpose?
Moe
8:16 am on Sunday, September 16, 2012
Jim - don't underestimate the power of stupid.
Chin
8:42 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
I was wondering to myself just two days ago when I passed by the sign while on the bus how long before some idiot ruined it. I got my answer. Philthadelphia at it's finest.
Phillycop
8:57 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
Don't just point the finger at Philly residents...this is some drunk driver on his way home and could easily be going back to Montco County. Just like the majority of arrests at sporting events have non city residents causing the problems and Philly gets the bad rap.
satisfydmind
10:48 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
i can't imagine a car doing this damage and being able to drive away from it?!! right?! there are stone "fixtures" on the sides of the sign. It does look like it was run over by something... but how could any vehicle or anyone for that reason walk away from this unscathed? well, guess we'll find out in the nxt couple days. ashame.
Mark
6:58 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
WOW!! its been like a month that didnt't take long....one step forward, two steps back. I guess the new one needs a concrete wall and barbed wire on top, so it doesn't get stolen a month later or graffiti all over it. Anyone know how much that sign cost to put up?
Mark
7:00 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
I am kinda surprised the crumbled sign wasn't stolen for scrap metal before the sun came up!
John Doe
11:00 pm on Friday, September 14, 2012
I'll just leave this here.
http://articles.philly.com/2012-07-16/news/32685584_1_roxborough-development-corp-original-sign-bernard-guet
Judith Gotwald
12:14 pm on Sunday, September 16, 2012
I always thought the motto: Gateway to Roxborough was lame. But I didn't do it.