Roxborough residents voice concerns over construction, development in the area
People who live and work in the Roxborough area say they are concerned, as the congestion on the roads has grown.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Community members gathered Thursday morning in Roxborough over concerns about what could happen to a wooded area, known as the Boy Scout Tract along Port Royal Avenue.
"We are very nervous about development," said Jamie Wyper, who lives in Roxborough.
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education owns the land. It requested a proposal on how to develop the area within their conservation-minded requirements.
"We're trying to figure out exactly what is driving this plan that they have," said Jennie Love, who works in Roxborough.
As of this week, the Schuylkill Center has pivoted, indefinitely suspending proposal requests, and looking at conservation opportunities to preserve the space.
"We've put that process on pause while we pursue full preservation of the entire 24 acres," said Mike Weilbacher, executive director of the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.
But there's still a concern.
"The development in Roxborough is tremendous, we're very afraid it's going to extend up into this neighborhood," said Wyper. "Ridge Avenue is just a tremendous amount of construction hundreds and hundreds of apartments."
People who live and work in the area say the congestion on the roads has now grown.
"Traffic was always bad, it's very difficult to get from Roxborough into Center City," said Wyper.
"It's hard to even go up and down Ridge Avenue anymore in what used to... I've lived in Philly in this particular area for 21 years and the journey that used to take 10 minutes is now about 45 minutes," said Love.
The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education hopes to provide updates in the coming weeks about the preservation of the site.
