When Philadelphia received a $14 million federal grant in 1993 to extend the Kelly Drive recreational trail south along the Schuylkill to Locust Street, the project was seen as more than just an amenity. It was hailed as an economic catalyst that would spur housing construction, attract business and boost property values.
But today, the east bank of the Schuylkill is largely the same trash-strewn wasteland it was a decade ago. Homeless people still camp in the undergrowth, and prostitutes conduct a flourishing trade just steps from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Only the intrepid jog and bicycle along the trail, which has been blocked off by a chain-link fence since fire damaged the Waterworks in February.
There is no single explanation for why a fully funded project should stall so spectacularly. Some blame the CSX freight company, which owns the railroad track that runs parallel to the river and has sued to stop the city from building a park alongside its right-of-way.
Others blame a disgruntled contractor who has twice sued the city to get the bid, and who will get another day in court Wednesday.
And some say lethargy in Philadelphia government is the reason the project is stuck in neutral. They complain that the Rendell and Street administrations have failed to make the park a priority.
"Why can't the city get the damn thing built?" demanded Michael Volpe, who serves on the board of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association and has lobbied the city to build the park. "The Schuylkill River Park is basically the product of private citizens acting on their own. Every time it's turned over to the city government, the government screws it up."
Most notably, he said, the city has been unable to hire a contractor for the project. Since December 2000, it has solicited bids from contractors on three separate occasions.
And three times, the bids have been invalidated.
The first time, the city threw out the submissions, saying the low bidder didn't meet federal and city requirements for hiring minority-owned subcontractors.
The second time, the courts invalidated the bids for the same reason.
Ditto the third time.
On Wednesday, Philadelphia will ask Common Pleas Court Judge John W. Herron to overturn his latest ruling so that construction can start this summer. If he rejects the arguments, the city is likely to appeal to a higher court, and the project will be put off until next year.
"It's really a shame," said John Randolph, who heads the Schuylkill River Development Council, a nonprofit citizens group that has been struggling since 1978 to transform the grimy waterfront into a landscaped promenade.
While Center City's picturesque shore has lain fallow, Hoboken, N.J., has created a dramatic esplanade, and Providence, R.I., has turned its oil-slicked river into an American Venice.
But in Philadelphia, development of the Schuylkill's banks has taken a backseat to the revitalization of the Delaware River waterfront.
"I don't think this project has any visibility, or that people fully understand what it could do," said Paul Levy, who runs the Center City District.
The first benefit of extending the Kelly Drive trail to Locust Street would be to improve access to the river. Since the trail is a link in a longer path extending from Bartram's Garden to Valley Forge, it would enhance people's ability to commute by bicycle to Center City and West Philadelphia. Because some people like to live close to water, the trail is expected to draw residents to adjacent neighborhoods, from Manayunk to Grays Ferry.
Despite the potential benefits, Levy said, "it's not like the city has embraced this park." While Philadelphia is now overseeing the park's construction, the planning, lobbying and grant-writing have been done by Randolph and his group.
When asked about the delays, Commerce Director James J. Cuorato said the park was "one of the most important projects in Philadelphia right now." He noted that the city had just received a $280,000 state grant to purchase riverfront property near the South Street Bridge so that the park could be extended further south someday.
One reason the park has been delayed, according to Cuorato's deputy, Dwayne Bumb, is that the city has had problems with the railroad tracks along the river. To enter Schuylkill River Park, people were supposed to walk across the tracks at grade level. Fearing that it would be held liable for accidents, CSX sued the city. The city agreed to fence off the grade crossings.
Under the current scheme, ramps and staircases would be built from the Walnut, Chestnut and Market Street Bridges so people could access the park safely.
Volpe faults the city, saying it gave in too quickly to CSX's demands. "The city thinks the Schuylkill River Park is supposed to be a jogging path... . The point of the park is to create an environment that attracts 21st-century-knowledge workers and helps revive the city's economy."
The railroad tracks have been only one of the project's roadblocks.
When the city first asked contractors to bid on the project in December 2000, no one could have imagined events that would follow.
The low bidder was Buckley & Co. Inc., a Philadelphia construction company. But when the city examined Buckley's paperwork, it concluded the contractor did not have enough minority-owned subcontractors or suppliers. Since the park is being built with federal money, the city must comply with equal-opportunity guidelines. They require that 10 percent of a project's budget go to a firm owned by an African American, a native American, a woman, or other qualified minority.
After Buckley's bid was thrown out, the city solicited bids again, in August 2001. This time the low bidder was Rockport Construction Co. Inc., of Lansdowne. But before the company could start work, Buckley sued, saying that Rockport didn't have the required 10 percent minority participation. Judge Herron ruled in Buckley's favor.
In January, the city attempted to bid the project for a third time. Once again, Rockport was the low bidder. Once again, Buckley challenged and won.
In a brief submitted to the court, Christopher McCabe, the city solicitor handling the case, argued that the 10 percent rule for minority participation was merely a goal, not an exact requirement.
Judge Herron has written that bending the requirement for one bidder would be unfair to the rest. "It is a shame that this project which is of great public interest is further delayed by the city's repeated abuses of discretion," he wrote.
Just $70,000 separates the bids submitted by Rockport and Buckley in the third round. Rockport bid $6,398,427, while Buckley bid $6,468,891.
The money would pay for an asphalt path similar to the one along Kelly Drive; for lighting; for fencing along the CSX railroad tracks, and for ramps to the Market and Chestnut Street Bridges. Portions of the $14 million grant have already been spent on a bulkhead wall along the river and on a planning consultant.
Bumb, the deputy commerce director, said he was still hopeful the legal logjam could be broken in time for construction to start this year. "We're very interested in making sure the work gets under way this summer," he said, so the park can open next year.
But if the city loses its appeal, he said, "all bets are off."
