Plans for Trail Repair - workdays scheduled 9/13 and 9/17

Update from FOW email 9/9/11

 Dear FOW Volunteers and Supporters:

 FOW and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation need your help to repair the park.
As you are aware, the Park has seen serious flooding and damage from Hurricane Irene and this week's storm.  Observations indicate that the flood levels in the Wissahickon on Thursday, 9/8 were even higher than that of Irene.  Here's a video from the Philadelphia Inquirer of flooding of Forbidden Drive at the Rex Avenue bridge.     

 Note that workdays will continue into October, and that the dates and locations for those workdays will be based on the severity of flood-related damages.  Addtionally, FOW can use your help in reporting areas of damage (see information at the bottom of the page)   

 Volunteers will first focus their efforts at Valley Green where flood waters have scoured walkways, destroyed trees and plants, damaged park benches and exposed utility infrastructure

 Valley Green Project schedule   

 Tuesday 9/13 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm

 Saturday 9/17 9 am to 1 pm

 Meet in front of Valley Green Inn.

 For further details and the latest volunteer schedule please visit the FOW Volunteer Page   or contact me at groves@fow.org, and be on the look out for further e-mail updates. 

Update from the FOW website (31 Aug 2011)

Although damage from Hurricane Irene could have been much worse, the park has sustained significant flood-related damages. We will not know the full extent of the damages or the full cost of repairs for a few days, but it is important for park users to be aware of several post-storm related safety conditions that may impact your experience in the park.

• There have been significant wash-outs of Forbidden Drive in several locations: near Rex Avenue, between Wise's Mill Road and Valley Green Inn, and between Gorgas Lane and Mt Airy Avenue. The terrain in these areas is uneven and may not be suitable for your regular Forbidden Drive trail activities (such as running, biking, riding your horse or even walking for some users) until repairs are complete. Parks & Recreation staff are currently working on repairs to Forbidden Drive in these areas.
• Upper trail conditions: our 50 miles of  natural surface (dirt) trails have sustained some serious damage in certain locations.  Areas where we know there are problems include: the Orange Trail trailhead at Bell's Mill Road; the trail alongside Cathedral Run just off of Forbidden Drive; the pre-existing damaged section of the Orange Trail south of the Walnut Lane Bridge. Please avoid areas which are obviously storm affected, and report damages to FOW as you discover them, so that they can be added to the list of areas requiring repair.
• Composting toilets at Rex Avenue and Mt Airy Avenue: the Rex Avenue composing toilet has sustained some significant flood related damage, and will be closed until repairs can be made; the Mt Airy Avenue composting toilet is still undergoing assessment, but may also require closure to repair and flood related damages.

We remind park users that the soil of our trails is saturated from this weekend's rains; we ask that you not run, bike or ride your horse on trail surfaces that are wet and vulnerable to further erosion. We also remind all park users that water quality in the Wissahickon and its tributaries is at its worst immediately after a storm event - water flow, turbidity and contaminants from street surfaces and waste water outflows are all high at the moment. We strongly recommend that you do not enter the water or allow your pets to enter the water, and remember that swimming anywhere in Parks & Recreation watershed parks is forbidden by law.

Please help FOW identify areas in need of repair by sending us an email at office@fow.org. Your email with reports of damages should include:

• the name of the site or a description of the site (i.e. "Yellow Trail between Hermitage and Leverington")
• if possible, a GIS location for the site (this is available on many cell phones)
• if available, photos you may have of the damage (limit 1 or 2 per email)
• a description of the conditions you observed (i.e., "tree limb down across trail" or "foaming water near storm water outlet")
• Your name, email address and phone number

Everyone is invited to take part in our post-storm cleanup activities. We will post a volunteer clean up schedule tomorrow and circulate it to our members. You can also donate here to support FOW's cleanup efforts in the park.

Thank you for your help,

Maura McCarthy
Executive Director
Friends of the Wissahickon

Orginal post - immediately after Irene

As you’d expect, the Wissahickon Park has suffered some severe damage from hurricane Irene.  PMBA will be supporting the efforts of the Friends of the Wissahickon in remediating this damage on workdays that they’ll be scheduling shortly.  We’ll post a schedule of these dates when we’re advised of them.  Please come out and help – it’s time to “give back” to the park where we love to ride.