Friends of the Manayunk Canal, with many thanks to Emily Fuller, a University of Pennsylvania graduate student, is thrilled to announce a walking tour brochure.  This brochure highlights the ecology and rich history of the Towpath and the Manayunk Canal.  We hope that you will take advantage of this new brochure and take a hike!  

Towpath Walking Tour Brochure (Front)
Towpath Walking Tour Brochure (Back)

Private Development Proposals on Venice Island
Don’t let decisions like these be made without your input! Choices about how your neighborhood is developed and maintained affect not only your property value, but your quality of life. Take this opportunity to get proactively involved in shaping and defining how your community develops!

• Venice Lofts, developed by Dranoff Properties, located between Leverington Avenue and Fountain Street on Venice Island.

• Venice One, developed by Dan Nedcusin, proposed location is on the now closed Carmella’s Restaurant land between Leverington Avenue and Green Lane on Venice Island. 280 units approved by Philadelphia City Planning Commission and the Zoning Board. All of this proposed development is located in the floodplain and requires the help of concerned local citizens to encourage a safe, responsible development takes place.
• Read FMC's Statement of Opposition (pdf)
• Read Delaware Riverkeeper's Statement of Opposition
• Check out the status of the Delaware River Basin Commission's Review (Docket # D-2007-030-1)

• Waterford Apartments at Cotton Street, developed by Realen Properties, located on the old Connelly Containers site off of Cotton Street, lastest unit announcement is to be 102 rental units, which is down from original plans to sell 270 units.
• Read Delaware Riverkeeper's Statement of Opposition
• Check out the status of the Delaware River Basin Commission's Review (Docket # D-2007-036-1)

Venice Island and all of the above built or proposed projects are located in the floodplain and all or part are within the floodway of the Schuylkill River. 

• Read more about the potentially life-threatening hazards of Living in a Floodplain: A Citizen’s Guide (pdf).

• Read letter from previous FEMA Director James Witt (pdf) opposing development on Venice Island's floodways.

Flooding at the Venice Island Loft construction site, 6/28/06.

Click for more flood event pictures.

Manayunk Canal, Towpath & Venice Island Restoration Initiatives

Manayunk Canal Restoration Initiative
Coming soon...more information on exciting new efforts to raise money to restore both the upper and lower locks to working condition and make the canal a National Historic Site.  When restored, the Manayunk Canal would be the only intact, functioning lock system remaining in the entire U.S.!

Ivy Ridge Trail

Philadelphia Water Department plans to construct an underground retention basin on Venice Island to address their federal mandate to control combined sewer overflows. Although PWD has yet to release the specifics of its plan, which will detail the size of the basin, its location and depth, PWD has made it clear that there will be funding to allow for the revegetation and landscaping of the site once the basin in completed. While the basin is intended to address the growing problem of stormwater runoff in the Roxborough/ Manayunk area as well as capture the last untreated sewage overflows draining into the Schuylkill River during storm events, a tremendous amount of public input and participation will be needed to insure that this project is designed and carried out in such a way to create as minimal an adverse impact as possible.

The Schuylkill Project

The Schuylkill Project is a collaboration of the East Falls and Manayunk Development Corporations, along with the Delaware Estuary, the Schuylkill River Greenway, the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, the Philadelphia Water Department, Lower Merion Planning Commission, Fairmount Park and Friends of the Manayunk Canal. Its goal is to not only revitalize the waterfronts, but to better connect the communities to the river by bringing people to the waterfront and providing opportunities for recreation and education. The river is important not only for the quality of life of our neighborhoods but also for its economic impact on commercial districts.  The neighborhoods of East Falls and Manayunk hope to realize the now hidden potential of the Schuylkill River. FMC has been coordinating with The Schuylkill Project and Fairmount Park to create a targeted invasive species management plan along a stretch of the Towpath.

Waterways Restoration 

Addressing routine maintenance issues, such as the removal of trash along and in the canal as well as invasive species management.The PWD Waterways Restoration Team help drain and clean large debris that collects at the Locks, while volunteers help pick up debris on the canal’s edges.

The PWD Waterways Restoration Team is comprised of members of both the Philadelphia Water Department and the Fairmount Park Commission, who are working to protect the drinking water supply by keeping garbage out of our streams and by restoring stream areas contaminated by damaged sewer infrastructure.To report trash or failing infrastructure, click here to contact them.

Locally, the Manayunk Development Corporation, in cooperation with local business leadership along Main Street, conducts periodic trash removals along the canal and in the canal at Lock Street. FMC's clean up efforts focus on areas not typically attended to by Manayunk Development Corporation.
 

Check out our website, sign up for our mailing list,
e-mail us an idea, or participate in upcoming events,
JUST GET EDUCATED & INVOLVED IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD!

Turtles along the Manayunk Canal Towpath!