The First Public Vision Study for the Last Historic Canal in the United States Capable of Being Fully Watered: the Delaware Canal

The 60-mile Delaware Canal operated commercially for 100 years until 1931 when the State of Pennsylvania acquired it to become a state park. A new 2016 Vision Study that evoked innovative public ideas for conserving the historic resource and making it sustainable in the 21st Century will be presented.

Transcript

1. World Canals Conference September 20, 2016 William Collins, RLA, VP, 
 Simone Collins Landscape Architecture Debra Wolf Goldstein, Esq., Executive Director, Delaware Canal 21
2. Orientation Inverness Delaware Canal
3. Context Pennsylvania Canal Lehigh Canal D&R Canal Morris Canal
4. Footprint Bristol Morrisville New Hope Point Pleasant Easton
5. Timeline
6. Canal-building era 1772 - 1832
7. Commercial use: 1832 - 1931
8. Recreation use 1931-present • National Register • National Landmark
9. Challenges • Aging infrastructure • A complex state park • Tax revenue limitations • Loss of institutional knowledge • Multiple jurisdictions • Uncertainty of purpose • Flooding / stormwater • Need reliable, sustainable revenue • Special training needed for park staff
10. Vision Study A public outreach process • Not a historic document • Not engineering • Not a feasibility study
11. Vision Study A FIRST STEP OF MANY • Conception • Inventory / Analysis • Public Involvement • Products • Opportunities
12. Delaware Canal Vision Study 2016 Year+ collaboration among: Advocacy partners State steward - DCNR Local communities Stakeholders / leaders Residents / Users Businesses “New Partnerships for a New Era”
13. Partners
14. New Conception: environmental infrastructure • Flood years – 2004, 05, 06 • Hurricane Sandy - 2012 • Federal emphasis on 
 ecosystem resiliency
15. Watering Issues
16. Challenges – Overlapping Jurisdictions
17. Public and Stakeholder Meetings • Business / Tourism • Government / Agencies • Recreation • Heritage / Culture • Environment
18. State Park Partners
19. Mapping (Elevation change) Easton to Bristol: about 120’ elevation change over 60 miles
20. Landscape Character • Text
21. Demographics Add Analysis map – add fade in of one bubble blowup
22. Trail Linkages • Text The Circuit Trail Network D&L Trail – Lehigh Canal Towpath Highlands Trail D&L Trail – 165 miles D&R Trail 202 Cross County Trail (Future extension) Middle Neshaminy Creek Greenway (Proposed) Middletown Trail (Proposed) 9/11 Memorial Trail (Proposed) East Coast Greenway
23. DCNR Project List
24. Priority Projects • Text • Remove Obstructions • Water Augmentation and Flow • Stormwater Management • Adaptive Reuse • Daylighting
25. Guiding Principles – distilled from public comment 1. It’s Our Delaware Canal 2. It’s About the Water 3. Conserving Our National Landmark 4. A Network of Trails and Connections 5. Stewards of the Canal and Rivers 6. A Park of Many Users 7. We’re All in This Together
26. Goals What is a fully-functional, sustainable Delaware Canal for the 21st Century?” • Fully-watered Canal • Better public access • Reduced flooding • Improved maintenance 
 practices
27. Areas of partnership opportunities • Text • Safety • Water • Structures • Access • Services / Amenities • Historic • Civic • Environment
28. Study format
29. Summary
30. Report navigation
31. Details – Elements, Locations, Administration
32. (Details) Elements – Structures – Dams
33. Details – Locations - Bristol
34. Details – Administration • Physical Plant • Maintenance • Management • Planning
35. • Text Vision Sketch Morrisville waterway obstruction alternative
36. Vision Sketch – Easton multi-purpose dam • Text
37. • Text Vision Sketch Easton Portal - bridge alternative
38. Recent Accomplishments • Text • Funding for removal of obstacles • Preliminary Stormwater Study • Watering Policy by DCNR • Army Corps partnership with DCNR
39. Acknowledgements • William Penn Foundation • PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources • Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor Photo Sources: delawareandlehigh.org, soleburyhistory.org, americancanals.org, thefieryredheadblog.com, americantrails.org, buckslocalnews.com, Simone Collins Landscape Architecture
40. Thank you! LIVE October 1, 2016 Draft Study for public comment www.DelawareCanal21.org • Text