Park bridges gap between city and its river
Monday, April 13th, 2009
By: Denis Devine
ddevine@whyy.org
A new park is close to being built on the Delaware Riverfront, at the base of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. It's called Lardner's Point Park, and it's being planned by the Delaware River City Corporation.
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Both of Philadelphia's rivers are tidal, which means they are subject to the whims of the faraway ocean's tides. That also means that they are vulnerable to a rising sea level caused by global climate change.
Planners and scientists say taking down the hard bulkhead barriers along the river may be the area's best defense.
Chris Linn is an Environmental Planner at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission. He says wetlands on the waterfront can absorb occasional floods better than a hard surface.
Linn: It will offer greater protection and flexibility over the long run, as shorelines change and as sea level rises, more flexibility than say a fully bulkheaded shoreline that has been fully paved and constructed right up to the water's edge.
The global scientific community generally expects sea levels to rise by at least 3 feet over the next 100 years, and possibly higher locally.