Delaware Canal Towpath Aqueduct Widening Unwelcome

YARDLEY, PA —For more than a decade, the borough has wondered and waited for word about a grant it had applied for regarding a Delaware Canal Towpath bridge.

The DCNR grant resurfaced last month and was a topic of discussion over the course of two Borough Council meetings with debate over widening the aqueduct to allow emergency crews access to the Rivermawr neighborhood —where one-third of the borough's population resides —in case of flooding.

Emergency Management Coordinator Wes Foraker addressed the council that EMS applied for the grant sometime before 2011 to widen the aqueduct but that the project would be scrapped over the years only to come up again this fall.

He said the grant calls for widening the aqueduct to 10 feet from its current 6.5 feet.

"If we do nothing, the project will just fall where the chips fall," Foraker said. "Or we can tell them what we want. Regardless, the aqueduct will be repaired."

Foraker said the project may get approval this year, meaning that "we could probably see boots on the ground next year."

That led to a discussion regarding safety and history.

"It's an issue of the character of the Delaware Canal," said Susan Taylor, president of the Yardley Historical Association. "The borough is creating a nuisance and a hazard with this project."

Taylor said that the borough has gone through floods in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2011 without there ever being the need to access the neighborhood via the aqueduct.

Taylor said the "sheer logistics of getting to that place is tricky" and that if the aqueduct was to be widened, it might prompt vehicles to drive down the towpath.

"It would create a visual implication to motorists," Taylor said.

"I have a really awful 'rock and hard place' position to preserve the canal," Taylor said. "I'm also not saying I don't care about life. That doesn't work. The Delaware Canal itself is a bit of a hazardous place. It's a delicate place. The canal and its structures are delicate. The canal loses essential character. You make it bigger and you make new problems for yourself. Making this more massive is not historically correct."

With that possibility, Council President Caroline Thompson urged her colleagues "to tell them it's not necessary, otherwise they will widen it."

Foraker said the borough isn't on the hook for any money with the project.

He said the aqueduct hasn't had any major maintenance since 1996 when it was severely damaged in a flood. Foraker added, though, that the concrete is in "rough shape" and already slated for repairs.

Councilman Uri Feiner wondered whether the borough could have any control over the "character of the canal or approve or reject the project's design.

"They are striving to keep everything in character with the surroundings," Foraker said. "We're not really players. We're hosting the land. We would offer a lifeline to residents, giving one-third of our town a level of protection that doesn't exist."

"That doesn't negate someone having to wade through water," Taylor said.

"I see the historical and safety perspective," said Councilman David Appelbaum, asking for the matter to be tabled so the council could gather more information before making a decision.

Foraker said the project wasn't a done deal, that it could go forward or "be killed down the road."

Mayor Chris Harding asked if there was any compromise.

"I was heavily involved in the floods," the mayor said. "I do know the real fear and loss of life. We'll do everything possible to protect them. In past floods, we learned each time. When we know a flood is coming, we can notify everyone."

Officials asked whether a smaller van that could get access might be available in a flood or for a medical emergency.

At the council's Feb. 21 meeting, the DCNR Delaware Canal Towpath Bridge Rehabilitation Project came up for consideration again.

After a lengthy discussion with PennDOT representatives, the council made a motion on the project.

Feiner made a motion not to widen the aqueduct structure, which was seconded by Appelbaum.

But then Feiner requested to amend the motion to allow the railing by the aqueduct to be widened.

The motion was approved unanimously in a 7-0 vote.