John Boyle
Thu, 30 Sep 2004 13:33:38 -0700
More Destruction ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Tordoff" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, September 29, 2004 6:22 PM Subject: [bcp] This morning's commute - Valley Green via Lincoln Drive toUniversity City
> Dani and I parked as usual near Springside School and started to cycle > down Valley Green Rd to the Inn. It is fairly common after a storm for > Valley Green Rd to be closed with yellow tape, and this was no > exception. But this time, the tape was at decapitation height. We ducked > under it and cautiously free-wheeled down the hill. There were lots of > leaves and small branches on the road, and some of the potholes that > were exposed by the last storm were back; they had been refilled by the > Park Commissioners last week. However, the road was in pretty good > shape. > > At the bottom, just before the bridge, the footpath alongside the road > was completely missing and there was a gaping 20ft high cliff on the > edge of the turbulent, muddy waters of the Wissahickon. Over the bridge, > the car park was covered in 3 - 12 inches of mud and sand. Clearly, the > river flooded during the night and water had covered the whole area, but > now it was receding. The tops of benches, where families normally sit to > watch the ducks, were just visible above the murky water. The ducks were > nowhere to be seen. There was a metal grid trash bin almost completely > submerged in rocks and mud, perhaps three feet deep. Incongruously, > there was also a wooden bucket planted with geraniums, standing as if > undisturbed, but 50 yards along the trail from the Inn. The good news is > that, unlike after Floyd, it looks like the Inn itself stayed above the > water line. > > We continued along Forbidden Drive. In many places, the normally smooth > surface was interrupted by piles of rocks, some a foot in diameter or > bigger, where streams had cascaded down the steep valley sides toward > the river. One pile of rocks was at least 4 ft high and covered > two-thirds of the trail. Others extended for 30 or 40 ft. In between the > rocks were patches of energy-sapping mud and sand, and steep troughs as > deep as a wheel. However, there were also long portions where the trail > had not been disturbed. Some of the railings had been swept away, and > the river was much closer than it was yesterday, but most of the trail > remained intact. Surprisingly, there was only one fallen tree, which we > could clamber over easily. > > The part of Forbidden Drive near Lincoln Drive suffered the worst > damage. For a long section, the surface had been completely eroded to a > bed of jagged stones. Earlier this year, workmen spent several weeks > rebuilding the river bank near the Lincoln Drive car park with > bulldozers and backhoes. All this work has been undone. There is a hole > at the edge of the car park, where the tons of rock used to be. > > Lincoln Drive was closed, so instead of following the bike path along > the right bank of the river, we rode along the Drive. (This was a good > choice, because after the two wooden bridges, the bike path was > submerged under 3 - 6 ft of water). On our side, the left bank, there > was a 15ft high avalanche of rocks in one lane, and two abandoned cars, > but just a little mud in the other lane which we could easily ride > through. As we rounded the curvy bit of the Drive we saw the real > problem. Water was still streaming over the banks of the river onto the > road. There was a vast "lake" stretching nearly all the way to the > Police Station. > > It was at this point that we had to get wet. Crossing to the far left of > the road, Dani started to ride through the water until it reached the > bottom of her pannier, and then she carried her bike. I rode until the > water was a foot deep, then waded after her. We aimed for the islands of > mud along the side of the road - or at least where the road used to go, > and the water remained less than knee-deep. Shockingly, there were > perhaps 20 abandoned cars. One had a horribly smashed front windscreen > where I can only imagine a fast moving log hit it. One had its front > wheels on the hood of another car. One was intertwined with the crash > barrier. Some still had water up to their windows. Most will never drive > again. There were car contents washed against the railings amid the > other debris. I saw a spare tire (God knows what the owner had in mind) > and a five foot tall stuffed animal. The surface of the water had the > sheen of gasoline. > > Lincoln Drive rose from the water again by the Police Station, which was > completely gutted with all doors and windows open, and we were able to > ride again. Kelly Drive was closed to traffic from Ridge Avenue to the > Falls Bridge but it was clear of debris and so we could make good > progress. After the Bridge, the Schuylkill was overflowing. We cut over > the grass on the new left bank and then carried our bikes through two > feet of water under one of the railway bridges to firm ground on the > other side. From there, Kelly Drive was clear, and we were able to ride > at a good pace. The bike path was still under several feet of water; the > top of the railing along the river side was just visible. Out on the > River to our right, a large jetty was stuck midstream, caught against > the wire used as the start of boat races. There were also trees and logs > drifting downstream. > >>From there, it was easy riding along the River Trail extension, up the > Walnut Street ramp, and onto campus. It was surreal to see life as > normal after the destruction we had just ridden through. > > Respectfully submitted, > > Mike Tordoff > > Postscript from the trip home: The rivers have receded and West River > Drive is now open for traffic and the WRD bike path has only a couple of > patches of mud. I took Lincoln Drive, and there was a lot of busy heavy > equipment at work. My guess is the roadway will be open in a few hours. > Dani took the path alongside Lincoln Drive. She said it was unridable > because of the mud and three large trees that had fallen across the > path. She had to drag her bike under one, and judging by her clothing, > she also became intimitely familiar with the mud. Forbidden Drive is > ridable but very rocky in places. /listinfo/thelist ---- You are receiving this because you are subscribed to the list named "bike." To subscribe or unsubscribe or for archive information, see <http://www.purple.com/list.html>. See also http://bcgp.blogspot.com/ and http://www.bicyclecoalition.org/