Olney/Oak Lane

Neighborhood Open Space Planning Profile for Olney/Oak Lane

Neighborhoods Included: Cedarbrook/West Oak Lane/East Oak Lane/Olney/Logan/Feltonville

1) Open space concerns, issues or challenges:

• Park & recreation facility improvements
• Promote awareness of existing resources
• Support the establishment of new play spaces

2) Community open space interests and desires:

• Fisher Park improvements
• Improve Tacony Creek Park
• Landscaping improvements along Cheltenham Avenue

3) Compliance or regulatory issues:

• Subsidence issues in Logan & Feltonville
• Environmental regulations along the Tacony Creek
• Clean Water Act regulations regarding pollutant discharge into waterways
• 100-year floodplain requirements for regulating land & property damage, as well as safety
• PA stormwater management & sediment erosion control
• Philadelphia Zoning Code, landscape buffer requirements: need for improved enforcement

4) Demographic trends or changes:

• Olney & Feltonville are two of the most ethnically diverse neighborhoods in Philadelphia.
• The population is low to moderate-income. East Oak Lane is middle-income; West Oak Lane islow to moderate-income; the Cedarbrook section is middle to upper-income.
• The housing stock is in generally good condition. The East Oak Lane neighborhood has large detached & semi-detached homes. West Oak Lane has more row homes in generally stable condition.

5) Market demands or pressures:

• While many of the neighborhoods in PAS J have lost population, Olney & Feltonville have seen steady growth. East & West Oak Lane & Cedarbrook remain stable.
• Olney & Feltonville are experiencing growing pains related to aging homes, families unable to afford improvements, & the needs of a changing population.

6) Specific environmental issues:

• The subsidence issue in Feltonville & Logan was the subject of Army Corps of Engineers studies. Remedial actions were taken in both neighborhoods.
• Sections of the community are divided & intersected by railroad tracks, both operational & non-operational. There are concentrations of dangerous & underutilized properties near the non-operational right-of-ways. Many of these large lots were formerly used for industrial purposes.

7) Major developments and/or open space opportunities:

• Improvements to Fisher Park.
• Renovated play areas in Tacony Creek Park.
• Planned improvements along the Cheltenham Avenue Corridor

8) Other important information that should be noted?

• As Olney & Feltonville continue to grow in population, particularly the youth population, additional open space & recreational amenities should be allocated. The Simons Recreation Center in West Oak Lane, Wagner Park on Stenton Avenue, & temporary fields at the former Temple Stadium site on Cheltenham Avenue currently provide the only recreation & open space for that area.