Month: February 2023

I love it. I can go places. I drive on it, often aggressively merging and switching lanes.  If I want to leave Philly or return to Philly, this is the way. It is the inevitable transportation institution. Infallible and overwhelmingly constant, the Schuylkill expressway is an accepted and unquestioned facet of Philadelphia life. 

Today, I’m questioning its existence. What a horrible and miserable monstrosity. An apocalyptic road of death, Ill health and constant societal anxiety. The Schuylkill expressway epitomizes the tragic endgame of modern American life, like so many others of its ilk, the time has come to seriously question, challenge and re-imagine this grotesque, loud and abysmal addiction.

Its love/hate right? I know, my call for the elimination of The Schuylkill expressway is radical and extreme, and I hope I am not alone in such a proclamation, however the time has come to create big ideas and greater visions for our society. 

Immediately, from a hands -on perspective, the Schuylkill Expressway is a very serious problem for Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. It is blocking every natural ravine, creating multiple backups of stream runoff, choking out the streams and creating weird and chaotic environmental conditions for much of the park.

We, as a collective society need to start thinking seriously about what can we do to not have the Schuylkill expressway in our lives. I know for us it is the most set-in -stone *forever* thing we use daily, depend on for our livelihoods, and deal with constantly. But when we are on it we are miserable. Full of anxiety. We become aggressive, enraged, despondent. 

I can imagine a modern society living without the Schuylkill Expressway. I have ideas.   This conversation will be ongoing!

It’s been awhile since we have posted, and I have identified a pattern: we are similar to the spring ephemeral wildflowers, when they are out we are posting! The blog is around 13 years going which is pretty cool for a blog. Busy with the houses and all of the intrigues of life, the blogging days have been in the rear view mirror lately. However we still have so much to observe and share.
Sean, as of this writing, me, have been very occupied in Fairmount Park as a user more than a contributor, for now. I have taken on bicycling in the park the past year and have carefully and thoughtfully curated a 12 mile route that involves hardly any interaction with automobiles, that goes from door to door from our Parkside neighborhood house. The bike ride has become somewhat of an institution in my life, providing much needed exercise as I roll into my fifties, as well as outside time and *being in the world time* as the pandemic has dragged on.
Every turn, trail and pathway has been carefully explored and crafted over a years exploration of the most pleasant route for a novice bicyclist. I curated the route to be very friendly for Isabelle as well, without huge tree branches, rocks and other obstructions that may make the riding less pleasant.
I hope to write about this new adventure and my and our many observations, botanical discoveries and critiques of the park and the city along the way. Stay tuned and if you are a subscriber please open up that occasional e-mail, it will never be boring!