The Mighty Ducks

Washington Square West has something to say! Well, 24 of its residents have something to say, er, maybe 22.

Brownstoner picked up on a survey put out by the Washington Square West Civic Association in which they found that a whopping 92% of their readers opposed moving the Ride the Ducks tour to the Schuylkill River. As if the Ducks have anything to do with Washington Square West - which hugging Broad Street is about as far from any river as you can get in Center City - that "92%" was of 24 people. Not a very groundbreaking sample, particularly when you consider that 92% of people who frequent community organizations' websites are looking for something to whine about.

I love the Schuylkill River and all of its parks. If anything I would like to see more boats, amphibious or not. When something succeeds it is bound to grow in popularity, and we can't expect it to be reserved for a chosen few. Tourists mean this city is getting better, and they mean more money can go towards more potential successes. The Ducks are going to be doing down the river, not down the Schuylkill River Trail. They'll also be adding a ramp into the river which will allow day sailors to enjoy the lower Schuylkill River without having to dangerously navigate the Delaware and South Philadelphia Navy Yard.

WaterMagic and Lots of Tourists

The Schuylkill Banks success story is about to get a little shot of caffeine. WaterMagic is a Philadelphia installation developer that combines water screens, image projection, robotic fountains, and solar power to create visual spectacles.

In addition to solar powered fountains, a screen of water would be used to show movies for evening events on the Schuylkill Banks.

As Ride the Ducks prepares to reconfigure their route to use the Schuylkill River instead of the Delaware, the Schuylkill Banks may become more of a tourist attraction than a place for residents to enjoy a lazy, sunny day.

Unfortunately the success of the Schuylkill Banks isn't free. While Okies* might be headed to the river to watch a movie projected on a 100 foot wall of water, those Okies are paying to keep that park clean.

While cheese steak wielding tourists might not be ideal to the Fitler Square sunbathers, the harsh reality of an urban success story is that it attracts visitors.

The increasingly popular Schuylkill Banks

Nutter might be seeing dollar signs, but Ducks, movies, and magic water pay the bills. Much needed improvements to the Delaware Waterfront could one day be built on lessons learned from her little sister.

Fairmount Park is huge and the Schuylkill River Trail goes all the way to Phoenixville. An advantage urbanites will always have on our tourists and suburbanites is our ability to find hidden oases in the heart of the city. The Schuylkill Banks is an urban success story but it's not a secret one. It was only a matter of time before its popularity went viral.

Enjoy it for what it is. But if you want a place to relax, I suggest the Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial Sculpture Garden.

*An Okie is the common term for one from Oklahoma.