Mayor, Councilman To Cut Towpath Ribbon Thursday

Following several months of revisions, the Manayunk Canal Towpath will officially reopen, with style, Thursday morning. Mayor Michael Nutter and Manayunk Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr. (D-4) will cut the ribbon on the $645,000 upgrade.

The renovation incorporated updates to trail surface, drainage, fencing, and all around safety all along the 2.2 mile-long trail, according to a press release from the mayor's office.

On hand with Jones and Nutter—himself the former fourth district councilman—will be John Giordano (Deputy Secretary of Pennsylvania Dept. of Conversation and Natural Resources), Michael DiBerardinis (Deputy Mayor for Environmental and Community Resources), Philadelphia Water Department Commissioner Howard and Kay Sykora, director, The Schuylkill Project.

Earlier this year, Sykora highlighted the work done on the towpath.

"It seems like many things are in motion, which is exciting after seeing incremental movement in the city for so many years," Sykora said Jan. 31 at the Manayunk Brewery.

The towpath project rehabbed, repaved and reinvigorated the trail alongside the canal and into Shawmont. Through city funds, grant and volunteers, the revitalization has chugged along. On Martin Luther King Day, 147 volunteers took to the trail for cleanup, Sykora said.

The ribbon cutting marks the first completed task at the massive Philadelphia Water Department project at Venice Island, the Manayunk Canal, the towpath, and other riverside areas. 

Nutter's ceremony begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Lock Street entrance to the towpath (off the 4100 block of Main Street).

For more information, visit  www.phillywatersheds.org.