The vision for the last forested section of land in eastern Delaware County known as Delco Woods was unveiled Wednesday night with a short-term plan for a woodland trail for all to enjoy the woods.
The Delco Woods Master Plan sets a long-term vision for the park while also identifying more immediate needs to be completed in the next 18 months, including a half-mile paved Woodland Loop Trail, providing accessibility to the older forested parts of the property.
“What our team has put together is a really great introduction to the park,” County Councilwoman Elaine Paul Schaefer said noting the all-accessibility Woodland Loop Trail. “Everyone can come into this park and really get into the forested part and experience it.”
“It really is an exciting step,” County Councilman Kevin Madden said. “There’s obviously more to come … This really is a major milestone in realizing the vision here.”
The 213-acre site, formerly the Don Guanella site, had been subject to various development proposals prior to Delaware County Council moving forward with eminent domain proceedings for the property four years ago. This followed the yearslong efforts of various grassroots groups, such as Save Marple Greenspace, to preserve the land.
“It’s very easy for us to lose track of just how far we’ve come with regards to this property in a relatively short period of time,” Madden said. “It was only four years ago that these woods were being developed. The plans were on the table, the bulldozers were (ready). The fact that that is not happening, the fact that we have this large untouched piece of property … is the real legacy we want to leave for generations to come.”
County council renamed the property “Delco Woods” and also was considering placing long-term structured residences in the buildings there for people who needed mental health services, but abandoned that idea after a vocal opposition emerged to that idea, largely from people who live near the park.
In designing the master plan, county officials embarked on an extensive public engagement campaign, including a survey that received 3,000 responses, a 15-member County Park Master Plan Advisory Committee for which 330 people had applied, various meetings, including an open house at Cardinal O’Hara High School that attracted hundreds and overall 24,000 public interactions regarding ideas for the county park.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a project or initiative that had this much engagement,” Schaefer said. “Literally, thousands and thousands of our residents participated in this project … The engagement in this was just amazing and that is telling. People really believe in this park, want to be a part of this park, can’t wait to use this park.”
On Wednesday, council also approved submitting an application to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for a $500,000 grant to design and construct the Woodland Loop Trail inside the park.
The vision for the park centered on three ideals: conserving the forest and streams; improving the network of trails; and creating a community resource for all of Delaware County.
Adopting the theme of “Community in Nature,” County Planning Director Gina Burritt spoke of how approximately 170 acres of the property is forested, which is a habitat for animals, plants and birds.
“It’s a really, really important resource for our county, not just for the beauty but also for the environment and also some historic resources that exist on the site as well,” she said. “As we were talking with everyone, they wanted to come out, they wanted a place to go … to spend time in nature but together. That was something that we heard over and over again.”
Early action items include trail markings and signage, building security, park stormwater management plan, a memorandum of understanding with the BMX group and the Woodland Loop Trail.
Burritt explained that the county does not want to build on the forested areas.
Most of the parts to be developed are part of the long-term vision for the park and are separated into nodules so that they can be addressed as revenue become available.
“Funding is an issue,” Burritt said, adding that the parts to be developed could be selected and moved around on a scheduled based on money availability. She said she hoped these could start work within five years, although councilwoman Christine Reuther said it would likely take longer than that.
However, Reuther said the benefits of having this pristine area remain helps with downstream stormwater flows.
“People need to understand the woods are hugely valuable,” she said. “The most important part of it was just preserving it. The second most important part of it is creating some kind of access so that people can appreciate what we have there.”
She noted that it will take some time to demolish the existing buildings on the site due to the cost.
Public comments
Some members of the public offered their thoughts on this unveiling.
Kathleen Lopez of Havertown served on the County Park Master Plan Advisory Committee expressed gratitude for the level of accessibility present in this plan.
“I wanted to humanize the accessibility issue,” she said, “because I was that mother with screaming kids dragging around strollers, one in the backpack with all the snacks and somebody with mobility challenges who could use a level terrain to walk on. … For many of us, this asphalt isn’t just asphalt, it’s access and it’s dignity and it’s a way to belong in a public space that without it, would be out of reach.”
She said 11.5% of Delaware County residents, or about 66,000, have some form of disabilities and they, along with seniors and parents with strollers will be able to use this trail.
Gary Ryder, who lives adjacent to the park, also spoke passionately about the property, recalling days in 1976 when he and friends were chased from the park in true Delco style.
His house, he said, is a pre-Revolutionary house 100 feet from the property.
“I’m a lifelong resident of Marple Township, so since 1976, I’ve been going in those woods,” Ryder said. “I know them woods probably better than anyone in this county, for sure. I’ve hunted them woods. I’ve shot giant deer in those woods.”
He also shared other memories of being in the park.
“I’ve had every dirt bike you can imagine,” Ryder said. “I was probably at every single keg party there that we had in the ’80’s. I’m not kidding you. I know them woods. I ran from the police I don’t know how many times you can’t imagine.’
He also shared his vision to have camping at Delco Woods, as well as an outdoor garden for which he was offering to share his rototiller, concerts, movies and fireworks as a way to make money to demolish the boarded up buildings and move on to the other parts of the plan.
The plan can be viewed at tinyurl.com/delcowoods.
