The city of Philadelphia's "most notorious unfinished infrastructure project" is now complete. What will the rebuilt 41st Street Bridge mean for the neighborhoods on either side?
Inga Saffron writes of the new reality facing the Belmont and Parkside neighborhoods, after they finally ended a 22-year period during which the 41st Street Bridge between the two neighborhoods was out of service.
According to Saffron, "residents are naturally giddy at the prospect of once again being able to travel between Girard Avenue in Parkside and Lancaster Avenue in Belmont," but "because unification is likely to bring an influx of new development, the two neighborhoods also are bracing themselves for big changes."
The bulk of the article focuses on the neighborhood groups and people who are leading the response to development pressures building as a result to the rebuilt connection between the two neighborhoods. Among their number: churches, individuals, and the newly established Centennial Parkside Community Development Corp. Among their concerns: the possibility of large-scale demolitions to make room for student housing.
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