Penn Students Lay Out One Vision for Roxborough

A grand Wissahickon Valley Park entrance, more bike friendly options, and increased way-finding signs are a glimpse at some options potentially available for Roxborough as developed by local graduate students.

University of Pennsylvania graduate students studying city planning laid out a vision for Roxborough that attempted to spotlight the neighborhood's strengths and suggest ways to improve.

"Roxborough is a very healthy community with a lot going on for it. There's also a lot of great possibilities," student Megan Knowles said.

For the past semester, students in the city planning workshop developed strategic plans for neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. Eight students created a plan for Roxborough, and three of them presented it to the 's Design Committee last week. They were more or less constrained to the lower portion of Roxborough—not Shawmont, Wissahickon or Manayunk.

After studying demographics, geography, and the commercial landscape, the students identified four areas to focus on: Henry Avenue near Wissahickon Park, the Ridge Avenue commercial corridor, residential Lyceum Avenue, and the connected areas between Manayunk and Roxborough.

Knowles, with classmates Cory Zimmerman and Rachel Aland, developed a detailed slideshow presentation—which included video animation and potential designs—along with a printed book that the RDC can draw from in the future.

Some ideas included:

• Installing slopped bike tracks on the steps over hills to allow easier movement up and down;
• Creating one central Henry Avenue bus stop near Wissahickon Valley Park to increase attention to the park and safety for users;
• Building more wayfaring signs that alert walkers to local attractions;
• Utilizing the wide Lyceum Avenue sidewalk to plant green buffers; and
• Attracting diverse businesses to Ridge Avenue.

The plans covered some subjects both large and small—with ideas like the bike ramps and signs more easily accomplished than bringing more businesses to Roxborough.

Other ideas, like turning the former Levering School into an apartment building and expanding Kendrick Recreation, may not have reflected the reality on the ground, but were interesting as conceptual ideas for Roxborough.

On the whole, the Design Committee was intrigued and impressed with the students' ideas.

The bicycle ramps "address a mental block people may have that's false. They think they can't go up," RDC Operations Manager James Calamia said.

Some in attendance appreciated the increased signage as a simple idea to conquer area ignorance.

Chip Roller, also the vice president for the Wissahickon Interested Citizens Association, thanked the students for the idea.

"I appreciate the group coming out here and giving us a perspective from people outside the neighborhood. We need fresh, out-of-the-box ideas," he said.

Check back with Patch for the slideshow presentation of the plan.