Delaware County Planning Department Environmental Planning

Open Space and Greenway Planning

Greenway Plan for the
Darby Creek Watershed

The Plan is available below in PDF format:

Complete Plan including maps (31.8 MB)
Complete Plan excluding maps (2.4 MB)
Maps (30 MB)

Background

The Greenway Plan for the Darby Creek Watershed is the first of a two-phase greenway network plan for the County. It will serve as a component of the upcoming Delaware County Open Space, Recreation, and Greenways Plan, which will be a component of the County comprehensive plan (under development). The project was partially funded by the Keystone Recreation, Park, and Conservation Fund Grant Program administered by DCNR, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation.

The Darby Creek watershed contains 76 square miles, with 22 square miles located in the Cobbs Creek major sub-watershed. There are 31 municipalities in the watershed, 26 of which are in Delaware County, comprising 77.5% of the land area. The remaining land area lies in Chester and Montgomery Counties and the City of Philadelphia. The greenway plan focuses only on areas within Delaware County; however, it notes the watershed planning efforts in these contiguous counties, and suggests greenway connections across county boundaries.

The watershed encompasses all or part of the following municipalities in Delaware County: Aldan, Clifton Heights, Collingdale, Colwyn, Darby, East Lansdowne, Folcroft, Glenolden, Lansdowne, Millbourne, Morton, Norwood, Prospect Park, Ridley Park, Rutledge, Sharon Hill, and Yeadon Boroughs and Darby, Haverford, Marple, Newtown, Radnor, Ridley, Springfield, Tinicum, and Upper Darby Townships.

Plan Vision and Goals

The generalized vision for the Darby Creek Greenway Network is to have a continuous ribbon of green from one end of the watershed to the other. As the County went through the process of identifying major goals and objectives, it became apparent that many goals are over-arching and may become the basis for greenway planning Countywide. The County’s primary greenway planning goal is conservation, for the purpose of preserving the many environmental benefits associated with natural corridors (i.e., floodplain management, open space, and wildlife protection). The secondary planning goal is to make connections between the watershed’s many natural and man-made resources. This may, where feasible, involve the development of trails for recreation and alternative transportation within the greenway network. The five goals that guided the recommendations in the plan are as follows:

Goal 1– Conservation: To encourage sustainable development and land management practices which preserve the County’s critical natural resources and unique environmental and historic character

Goal 2– Connection: To provide a connected network of greenways made up of open space, parkland, trails, and transit corridors that link fragmented biological resources and connect the people to various destinations both in and out of the watershed

Goal 3– Quality of Life: To improve and maintain quality of life, well being, and economic health in the Darby Creek watershed through better planning and utilization of the greenway network as a basis for land use decision-making

Goal 4– Education: To educate the public, policy makers, and landowners about the benefits of greenways and their roles in conservation, land management, and planning that takes into account greenway resources and recreational opportunities

Goal 5– Implementation: To provide a framework for implementation of the greenway plan through sound actions and policies that further the goals and objectives of the plan

Segment Areas

The watershed was divided into 12 stream segments, which served as focus areas for both analysis and implementation purposes. Profiles for each segment describe conditions and resources, identify hubs and spokes, and list opportunities for greenways as well as challenges. A major recommendation in the Action Plan is for the development of greenway segment plans – more detailed further planning to be initiated by local officials. A pilot segment plan for Segment #8, the Darby Creek Stream Valley Park Master Plan (update, 2009), was developed by the County as part of this project. It is described in more detail below.

Action Plan

In order to implement the goals and objectives of this plan, an Action Plan with a list of recommended initiatives, projects, and policies was developed. The actions are land and human capital oriented; some of which pertain to specific places and activities. Many actions rely on partnerships, developing capacity, and implementation of education programs to build awareness for the greenway network (e.g., greenway public education program, marketing plan, and website for the greenway). Others actions call for additional planning, including preparation of individual segment area plans and development of a trail graphics and signage guide. Additional actions include implementation of existing plans (i.e., Darby Creek Stream Valley Park Master Plan) and installation of improvements to make Baltimore Pike a “green” road. The most important implementation actions involve activities that focus on coordination and cooperation (i.e., formation of a Greenway Task Force).

Plan Preparation

DCPD was responsible for preparation of the greenway plan. A consultant, Urban Research and Development Corporation facilitated public participation meetings, and with prepared much of the Darby Creek Stream Valley Park Master Plan update.

Darby Creek Stream Valley Park Master Plan Update

This Plan is available below in PDF format:

Complete Plan including maps (9.3 MB)
Complete Plan excluding maps (6.9 MB)
Maps (2.7 MB)

The study area for this pilot greenway segment plan is an approximately 5.1 mile stretch of stream corridor in Upper Darby Township and Lansdowne, Aldan, Clifton Heights, Yeadon, and Darby Boroughs that was the focus of the Darby Creek Stream Valley Park Master Plan (1987). This plan is essentially a trail feasibility study that serves as an update to that plan.

The proposed multi-use trail route follows the stretch of stream corridor between Garrett Road in Upper Darby Township and Pine Street in Darby Borough. The plan looks at the design of a stream valley trail and such things as parking, signage, bridges, fencing, maintenance, and other considerations for a greenway linear park and providing facilities for its users. Implementation of this segment area plan is intended to be carried out primarily by the municipalities, but also by institutions, organizations, and conservation groups serving the area.