Design Complete for Ivy Ridge Trail

Since last November, Mike Campbell and his team have worked tirelessly to get feedback, to include the community and to build consensus.

Now, just seven months later, Campbell has unveiled his plan for the Ivy Ridge Trail Project.

“We needed to get ideas,” Campbell said.  ‘We wanted to design a trail the public wants or needs.”

The plan would convert the old Pennsylvania Railroad tracks that run from Leverington Avenue to the Ivy Ridge SEPTA station into a pedestrian and bike friendly trail that would connect to the Towpath trail and then onto other regional trails.

“We’ve divided the trail into four sections,” Campbell said.  “Each section has a unique design, and its own set of challenges.”

Leverington Avenue Bridge

The first section of the trail would connect the Ivy Ridge Trail to the soon-to-be-renovated Manayunk Bridge. 

The elevated roadbed between Canton and Dupont Streets will be converted into a 25 feet wide trail.  The designers want 16 feet of the trail to be for pedestrians and bicyclists.  Another two feet would be soft surface for joggers, and the remaining six feet would be landscaping.

The designers are unsure if they will be allowed to build this design due to drainage issues.  The back-up plan is to build two 12.5 feet wide sections with one side for pedestrians and the other for bicyclists.

Canton Street

This section will stretch from Canton Street to Wright Street.

The main concern with this section is that it is an abandoned roadbed that now functions as a parking lot.

Near neighbors were concerned that the trail would eliminate that parking. 

Designers hope that by building an actual parking lot, some of the parking issues will be addressed as well as some drainage concerns.

This section of trail would also be 25 feet wide with 16 feet for shared use between pedestrians and bicyclists, two feet of soft surface and 13.5 feet of landscaping.

Fountain Street

The main issue at the Fountain Street section was how to connect the Ivy Ridge Trail to the Towpath without disrupting the Fountain Street Steps or the drainage. 

The proposed solution is a long ramp with a switchback that makes the ramp Americans with Disabilities Act compliant.

Here, the trail would be 32 feet wide with 16 feet for pedestrians and bicyclists.  Another there will be two feet of soft surface on each side for joggers, and the rest of the footage will be landscaping.

Ivy Ridge

The final section of the trail will connect to the Ivy Ridge SEPTA station. 

Trail users would be able to go through the parking lot to connect with the bike lanes on Umbria Street.

Designers did admit they had concerns about traffic and safety and that a traffic study would need to be completed.

Funding

Designers said a rough estimate for the cost of the project would be three million dollars.

No funding has been secured for final design or construction.

“I think once the Manayunk Bridge project is completed people are going to want this to be finished, too,” Campbell said.