Construction To Begin On Key Section Of Greenway Trail Along Delaware River

By John McDevitt

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony was held today in East Torresdale for a new, 1.8-mile section of the North Delaware Riverfront Greenway Trail.

The section is called Baxter Trail.  It's is an important off-road pedestrian and bicycle link between Pennypack Park, Pleasant Hill Park, and other areas, such as along the Delaware River, that have not been accessible.

(A map and artist's renderings of the new parkland on an easel at the groundbreaking.)

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Mayor Michael Nutter (in center of top photo) says the circuit currently includes 300 miles of trails through New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  Fifty miles are under constriction, and 450 more miles are planned in the coming years.

"When it is complete, and it will happen, 750 miles of the circuit will give the Philadelphia region a trail network unlike any other in the United States of America, connecting urban, suburban, and rural communities in the fifth-largest metropolitan region in the United States," the mayor said.

The circuit will  be a part of the 2,900-mile, east coast greenway planned from Maine to Florida, which is approximately 29 percent complete.