Queen Village's Easiest Way to the River Now Starts at Washington Avenue

East of 4th Street, Washington Avenue is just over 100 feet wide when you count the concrete median and the parallel local and parking lanes. The City says that makes it about as wide as Christopher Columbus Boulevard and almost twice as wide as South Broad Street. For years that width sat between Queen Village's southern blocks and the Delaware River, and the only gain was a few extra seconds of exposure at every crossing. Community members told the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation that the corridor felt unsafe and unwelcoming when planning began in 2018.

On October 13, the City of Philadelphia and DRWC cut the ribbon on the finished Washington Avenue Connector, near 4th Street. The neighborhood's southern edge is now its best-built approach to the river. It also arrives at a time when the waterfront closer to South Street is still a work zone.

What Changed Between 4th Street and Columbus Boulevard

The project covers roughly 2,000 feet of Washington Avenue and six intersections, running from Jefferson Square Park at 4th Street to Christopher Columbus Boulevard. The 4th Street end is the same street that carries Fabric Row, so the trail starts on a corridor the neighborhood already uses.

According to the City's project summary, the finished corridor includes:

• A 14-foot-wide separated multi-use trail between the Delaware River Trail and Jefferson Square Park
• A parking-separated westbound bike lane
• Sidewalk extensions, shorter crosswalks, four new pedestrian refuge islands and 78 ADA-accessible curb ramps
• 35 new light poles for pedestrian-scale lighting
• 66 new native trees, plus a raised planter with benches and hundreds of native shrubs, grasses and perennials
• Upgraded traffic signals, three new bike racks and 12 new trash and recycling receptacles

The work also removed a slip lane that ran from 4th Street to 3rd Street along Jefferson Square Park and under I-95, the Northeast Times reported. That space now holds the wider sidewalk and the trail.

The connector took longer than planned. Construction began in April 2025 on a $9.5 million contract. Billy Penn reported in August that it had been expected to finish in the spring and was then aimed at late August. The ribbon cutting came in mid-October.

Why this stretch avoided the road-diet fight

West of 4th Street, the two-mile "road diet" from Grays Ferry Avenue to 4th Street turned into a long dispute among residents, businesses and traffic safety advocates. The City settled on a hybrid of three, four and five lanes. The Northeast Times noted that the connector changed no lane configurations on the main stem of the road. The extra width east of 4th Street left room to add the trail without the same conflict. The width that made the corridor feel hostile is the same width that let it be rebuilt without a fight.

Reaction has not been all positive. Billy Penn's August reporting found broad praise for the safety improvements, lighting, trees and the path itself, along with complaints about lost parking. Elizabeth Woods, a senior vice president at DRWC, told Billy Penn that "the connection for South Philadelphians in particular to get to the Delaware River Trail is going to be huge."

At Columbus Boulevard, the Route Splits

The connector ends at a fork. From the east end of the path, you can cross Columbus Boulevard to the Delaware River Trail heading north along the road, or keep going on a path to the river's edge and the southbound trail, Billy Penn described. The two directions offer different things.

Straight ahead and south: open all year

Washington Avenue Pier, also called Pier 53, sits where Columbus Boulevard meets Washington Avenue. DRWC lists it as open year-round, seven days a week, from dawn to dusk, including during the I-95 CAP construction. Its landmark is Jody Pinto's 55-foot "Land Buoy," a sculpture with a spiral staircase and a blue beacon.

From there, the river-edge trail runs south from Washington Avenue Green to Pier 70 Boulevard, at the southern edge of the Pier 70 parking lot. Along the way is Pier 68 at 1751 S. Columbus Boulevard, also open daily from dawn to dusk all year. DRWC says it will stay open during the CAP work. This half of the fork is the quieter one, and in late fall the dawn-to-dusk hours make it a daylight walk.

North: the season builds toward Winterfest

Spruce Street Harbor Park closed for the year on September 27, after a season that opened May 22. North of the connector, the trail now leads to places with evening hours.

Cherry Street Pier is free and open year-round. It lists closures on Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Race Street Pier, just past it, opens daily from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. all year. Between the two piers, along Columbus Boulevard, is the art installation "Weaver's Knot: Sheet Bend."

Independence Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest is the main seasonal draw. Its 2026 dates, announced by Independence Blue Cross and posted on DRWC's hours page, are below.

Winterfest is free to enter. Skating and other amenities cost extra. All of these destinations sit on the Delaware River Trail, which runs year-round for 3.3 miles from Pier 70 to Penn Treaty Park. From Queen Village, the Washington Avenue route is now a finished, protected trail the whole way to Columbus Boulevard.

The Northern Route Is Still Under Construction

The connector matters this winter because the waterfront north of it is still being rebuilt. PennDOT's cap over I-95, which will support the 11.5-acre Park at Penn's Landing, was 50 percent complete as of late July. The cap is targeted for 2029, and DRWC expects the park to open in late 2029 or 2030. The overlapping projects have brought a revolving series of detours to Columbus Boulevard, I-95 and nearby streets.

The South Street Pedestrian Bridge is being extended across Columbus Boulevard to the waterfront. PennDOT's summer update said assembly was expected to start in fall 2026. It said the existing bridge would stay open with only minor interruptions, and it named Dock and Market streets as the walking and biking route between Penn's Landing and Front Street during construction. In July, PhillyVoice reported that placing the bridge's arch had slipped from June to February. The extension will eventually put a new river entrance at Queen Village's northern edge. Until it does, the finished route is the one at the southern edge.

Drivers have one more change to watch. PennDOT's October 8 advisory says the Morris Street ramp to southbound I-95 is closed around the clock through Friday, November 20. The detour runs via Water Street, Tasker Street, Columbus Boulevard, Oregon Avenue and Front Street. The advisory does not mention any closure of the Delaware River Trail.

Washington Avenue Pier is open from dawn to dusk every day. Winterfest tickets go on sale October 28. Between now and then, the 2,000 feet from Jefferson Square Park to Columbus Boulevard is a short walk to the river.

The new connector also changes which Queen Village blocks are closest to a protected trail to the river. If you're weighing that for a future sale or purchase, Jamie Smith Raphael can walk you through how it plays out block by block. Request a private consultation to talk through the blocks between Fabric Row and the river.