The Rail Park Next Phase

Project Overview

The next phase of The Rail Park Phase, termed the Viaduct Greenway, will convert an abandoned railroad viaduct, 6.8 acres of brownfields that run for 6/10th of a mile from Vine Street to Fairmount Avenue, into an elevated park that links diverse neighborhoods together with an active transportation trail. Initial improvements will include environmental remediation, structural repairs, a linear trail with basic lighting and safety elements and multiple points of access. Future public space amenities will be designed in partnership with adjacent community groups. The new public park will connect to Phase I of The Rail Park at Callowhill Street and will provide open space for recreation and exercise for thousands of nearby residents, while the trail will be a low-cost, low-emissions transportation alternative for trips to schools, healthcare facilities, grocery stores, and employment opportunities, reducing the number of single-occupancy vehicle trips to everyday destinations.

Get Involved

CCD and the project Steering Committee, which includes Friends of the Rail Park, West Poplar Neighborhood Association, Callowhill Neighbors Association, 14th Community Organization RCO, and Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation are working with community engagement firm, Connect to the Dots to ensure that you are a part of this process. The first phase of outreach is focusing on the design of the Initial Phase and your aspirations for future phases of the Viaduct Greenway. There will be additional community engagement and workshops conducted in the future as we near each new phase of the project. To learn more about the mission and goals, download the Statement of Values [PDF].

Here are links to download the Viaduct Greenway Project Fact Sheet | 高架桥绿道项目概况介绍 | 高架橋綠道項目概況介紹 | Hoja informativa sobre el proyecto de la Vía Verde del Viaducto

Your input is important to help shape the Viaduct Greenway into a new public space for you and your neighbors. We want to hear your ideas, concerns, and hopes for the project through the community engagement process. Below are the various ways you can share your feedback with us.

Take the Viaduct Greenway Survey | 简体中文版高架桥绿道调查 | 繁體中文版本高架橋綠道調查 | Encuesta sobre la vía verde del viaducto - Completar en español
Please take 15-minutes to complete our survey and share how you navigate around the Viaduct and what programs, amenities and design ideas you would like to see there. The survey is open now through June 15.
Stop by a Pop-Up Location
May 20 to June 15, we will be setting up at locations and events in your neighborhood with handouts about the project and giveaways.
- May 18 | 2-5 p.m. | Greening Day with Nehemiah HOA | 13th & Parrish Sts.
- May 25 | 3-5 p.m. | Triple Bottom Brewing | 915 Spring Garden St.
- June 2 | 10:30-1 p.m. | Chinese Christian Church + Center, Vine Campus | 1101 Vine St. |
  普通話和粵語的口譯員將會提供服務。| Language support will be available in Mandarin & Cantonese.
- June 4 | 6-8 p.m. | Movement Callowhill | 1010 Callowhill St.
- June 9 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m. | The Rail Park | 1300 Noble St.
Attend an Interactive Workshop
In June, we will host open-house events in Callowhill, Poplar, and North Chinatown, with in-depth activities to gather valuable input on amenities, programs, design ideas, overall style and your hopes for the neighborhood and the Viaduct Greenway.
- June 8 | 5-7 p.m. | Triple Bottom Brewing | 915 Spring Garden St. | Los intérpretes de español estarán disponibles. | Langauge support will be available in Spanish.
- June 10 | 5-7 p.m. | FACTS Charter School | 1023 Callowhill St. |
  支持普通话和粤语 | Language support will be available in Mandarin & Cantonese.
- June 11 | 6-8 p.m. | St Paul Community Center | 1018 Wallace St. (Entrance at 1019 Lemon St) | Los intérpretes de español estarán disponibles.| Langauge support will be available in Spanish.
Tell Your Story on the Digital Multimedia Wall | 讲述您的故事 | 講述您的故事 | Cuente su historia
Visit our project wall to share stories about your neighborhood. You can submit written comments, photos and/or audio files.

Project Background

The viaduct was built in the 1890s to carry passenger and freight trains into Center City and consists of steel structures, elevated filled areas and arched masonry bridges that provide spectacular views of the city. The last train traveled its rails in 1984 and the viaduct was abandoned to weeds and disrepair. The Center City District (CCD) was drawn to the project in part because of the success of other rail parks that fashioned new green and community gathering spaces from derelict tracks in cities such as New York, Chicago and Atlanta.

The CCD completed the transformation of Phase 1 of The Rail Park in 2018. Building on that success, the CCD entered into a development agreement with the City of Philadelphia and has engaged Urban Engineers and Studio I Bryan Hanes to lead engineering and landscape design for the project. CCD has also retained Connect the Dots Insights to lead a community engagement process and will be presenting conceptual plans for the Viaduct Greenway to gain valuable input from neighbors at public meetings as well as through online and intercept surveys.

With much of the land around the Viaduct Greenway remaining vacant and undeveloped, the opportunity exists to add residential and light commercial development and to create a unique, mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhood that supports the aspirations of the Chinatown, Callowhill, West Poplar and East Poplar communities.

The CCD has committed to raise all the funds to complete the renovation of the Viaduct Greenway with initial work supported by a generous grant from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development - Industrial sites Reuse Program and additional grant support from PECO Green Region, William Penn Foundation and Wyncote Foundation.

To help support this important project, please consider donating to the CCD Foundation.

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