In July, the Boardwalk to South Street trail project connecting West Philadelphia and University City to the Banks will be bid. The Schuylkill Banks Development Corporation is working with the city to build a 2000-foot-long concrete structuring that will run parallel to the eastern shore of the Schuylkill from Locust Street to the South Street Bridge. Michael Baker Engineers will build a ramp to link the 15′-wide boardwalk for bikers and pedestrians who would otherwise block the trail.  Three points of access will be provided along with several overlook areas to enjoy the river view. The construction phase of the project is expected to take two years.

Photo courtesy of the City of Philadelphia and SRDC

The Walnut Street Bridge is going to be more easily accessible to all of its users (i.e. drivers, bikers and pedestrians), rather than it being predominantly for motor-vehicle traffic. Currently, the bridge possesses four traffic lanes, a bike lane and two eight-foot sidewalks. Pedestrian and bike traffic has increased considerably and the bridge currently isn’t set up to accommodate all that traffic.

To make the Walnut Street Bridge more conducive to current traffic, design team Michael Baker Engineers will reduce the number of lanes from four to three which will allow for the sidewalks to be expanded to 12’. According to the Schuylkill River Development Corporation, reducing the number of lanes will also help to calm the traffic, creating a symbiotic relationship between bikers, pedestrians and vehicles. In…

Bethany Seawright, graduate student of interior design, MFA candidate and contributing blogger for Apartment Therapy, has given Philly architecture a great shout-out on the site. “Over and over again, I am amazed at the number of formidable architects than have come through our city and influenced its ever-changing landscape,” says Seawright. She featured the the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk by Michael Baker Engineers, the Barnes Foundation (on the Parkway) by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects (as well as their Skirkanich Hall project), I.M. Pei’s Bingham Court, Onion Flat’s Rag Flats and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Beth Shalom Congregation. ”There seems to be no end to the inspiration to be found in our fabulous city,” exclaims Seawright. We thank her for posting these projects, which were additions to Arch Daily’s original (but not complete) feature on  our architectural gems.