A nearly $14 million federal grant awarded to the Schuylkill River Development Corporation (SRDC) and Philadelphia Department of Streets is at risk after the Trump administration’s recent executive orders disrupted the flow of federal spending.
An SRDC representative told Grid in an email that it is waiting to see whether the administration will pay for the project to close critical gaps in the Schuylkill River Trail (SRT). “The recent federal grant award announcement for the $14 million of funding for the 2 SRT connections in Manayunk and Passyunk is getting caught in the Trump crossfire as federal funding has been halted,” the representative writes. The funding comes from the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that is now under threat of being defunded.
The project would add two new segments — the Wissahickon Gateway Trail (2,000 feet) and the Passyunk Connection (4,500 feet) — to the SRT. These additions would allow pedestrians and cyclists to travel nearly 39 miles off-road and steer clear of the Vision Zero High Injury Network corridor of Main Street and Ridge Avenue in Northwest Philadelphia, according to the press release announcing the grant. The augmented trail would also provide users access to commercial and residential corridors and public transportation.
Thank you for your reporting.
Philadelphia should seek out state funding and private funding to diversity funding possibilities, since we can’t count on federal funding anymore.