Fishtown District Awarded Community Project Funding for Frankford Avenue Connector Project
In 2018, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC), https://www.delawareriverwaterfront.com/, hired engineers from PORT Urbanism (PORT), https://www.porturbanism.com/, to make necessary changes to the public realm and urban design of the Fishtown/Riverwards neighborhoods. The overall objective of the project was to create a unified, inviting design for Frankford Avenue that will provide a safe and attractive passage for pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists between the neighborhood and the river. Specially, all stakeholders of the public realm were engaged to accomplish a design that brought life, function, and art to the collective space on Frankford Avenue (from Girard Avenue to the Delaware River trail by Rivers Casino). The traffic flow and size of Delaware Avenue made it impossible for residents and visitors to safely travel from the Fishtown/Kensington communities and enjoy all that the Delaware River has to offer. PORT’S plan/design used the spaces under I-95, pedestrian openings along Delaware Avenue, and Delaware River trail to allow for public use, artistic expression, directional signage, hushed lighting, and, most important, a connecting pedestrian walkway to the River for the entire region to enjoy. In January of 2020, Joseph Forkin (jforkin@drwc.org ) and Christopher Dougherty (cdougherty@drwc.org) of DRWC contacted Marc D. Collazzo, J.D., Executive Director of the then newly created Fishtown Kensington Area(Business Improvement District, (Fishtown District) to obtain approval for this project, as well as assistance in obtaining funding to bringing these dynamic designs to life!
The Fishtown District is pleased to announce that we have been awarded Federal Community Project Funding (CPF) in the amount of $750,000.00, to help bring this necessary neighborhood/River connector to fruition in the desired timeline. This generous award was made possible by the zealous and continued advocacy of Congressman Brendan Boyle (2nd District), https://boyle.house.gov/rep-boyle-community-project-funding-submissions. We are fortunate to have him as a partner and friend, and the Fishtown District, DRWC and PORT Urbanism look forward to the 2022 signing of the Appropriations Bill so that we can begin our work in earnest to bring our community to the treasures of the Delaware River. Stay tuned to the Fishtown District for further details about the project timeline, design initiatives, and public engagement.
“The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men.”——-Mark Twain
To view the complete plan click HERE.