The Council Continues To Work With Residents to Make Cobbs Creek Park Accessible For Everyone

Cobbs Creek Park is a fantastic urban greenspace and a tremendous asset to residents in Delaware County and West and Southwest Philadelphia. However, barriers to accessing the park have made it less inviting and limited residents’ connection to the green space. The Council has been heavily involved in advocating for safe access to the park and improvements for over a decade, including extending the length of the 4+ miles of paved trail to the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge. These are just a few recent successes from the Council’s advocacy work in Cobbs Creek this year. 

Eastwick Park Trail

Over the past year Clean Air Council has worked with residents as well as city officials, the EPA, and partner organizations to develop a vision for Eastwick Park Trail on the Clearview Superfund site. The Council hosted community meetings, in person trail walks, online surveys, and door to door outreach to residents to inform the design of the trail, which as a result will include several features that community members have called for.

As of October 2023, paving of the Eastwick Park Trail has begun, and lighting and other trail amenities will be installed over the winter and spring. Following construction, the trail will connect to Heinz Wildlife Refuge and eventually to Cobbs Creek Trail as part of the Circuit and East Coast Greenway trail systems.

Outdoors and More

This fall, the Council launched its first of a recurring feature in the Southwest Globe Times, its Outdoors and More newsletter insert. The newsletter is a monthly publication created by the Council in partnership with Southwest CDC to inform neighbors about happenings in and around Cobbs Creek Park. The newsletter will highlight local nature events and news every month, and is a source for information and opportunities related to the Cobbs Creek Trail, Cobbs Creek itself, local West and Southwest parks and other outdoor happenings. The Cobbs Creek and adjacent trail is a beautiful nature resource that travels through several neighborhoods from Wynnefield to Eastwick and everywhere in between, and the Council hopes this new communications platform will help to connect more residents to happenings on the trail.

Signage Project

Over the past two years, Clean Air Council has partnered with Cobbs Creek community groups and stakeholders to install eight wayfinding signs along almost four miles of Cobbs Creek Trail. These installations include maps that incorporate park resources and community assets, key safe crossing access points and transit stops, and act as placemaking infrastructure aimed at connecting and welcoming residents to the trail and park. The wayfinding signs also create strong connections to nature by offering information on park plants, trees, wildlife, and more. With the goal of creating a sense of invitation to and ownership of Cobbs Creek Park, the signage network aims to connect residents to comfortably explore all the park has to offer.

For more information on the Council’s work in Cobbs Creek contact Kiasha Huling and Will Fraser at khuling@cleanair.org and wfraser@cleanair.org.