I recently came across a neat new book called "Forgotten Philadelphia" which has photos and brief essays about various structures that have been demolished over the years.
http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Phil.../dp/1592135064

Anyway, the author devotes a chapter to various plans that didn't come to fruition. One thing I hadn't heard of was the proposal to connect the Main Line to Chestnut Hill via a parkway. It would have started at Lancaster Ave in Ardmore, followed Mill Creek road, over the Schuykill, then Cathedral road, over the Wissahickon, then connected to the Lincoln drive extention near Pastorius Park in CH.

I've always wondered why Cathedral Road is so wide, with a median strip, behind the Andorra shopping center. It's especially odd the way it continues around past the horse stables and then abruptly ends. Perhaps it was built that way with the parkway in mind.

According to the book, the project dates back to the 1880's, was close to implementation in the 1920's, but was scrapped for good in the 1950's.

My understanding is that that road was moved west and eventually became the Blue Route. Cathedral Road definitely was meant to continue to a bridge to Chestnut Hill and another bridge across the Schuylkill. If you think about it, there is only one bridge over the Schuylkill in Roxborough / Manayunk and three bridges over the Creek. There is also only only one land connection (Ridge Pike), making Rox / Man surprisingly landlocked.

what ever happend to river rd. i recently spoke to someone at shoprite and they told me the city is pumping millions of dollars down on that road what could possiby cost that much? is that going to be like the river drive. sure would be nice. ridge ave is a mess

River Road is a private road. It is and will remain closed to through traffic. The Water Department is putting public sewers in because the (state?) Environmental Department is giving them a hard time for having septic systems so close to the river. You're stuck with Ridge as the only westerly road.

private road? how is it that my tax paying dollars are funding a private rd. not being smart just wondering why millions of dallors are being spent for a road that does me no good. aren't you guy's in the city. you stated your self roxborough is land locked if the city spends our money for you why can't we use the rd

In olden days the streets were public; they were owned by the city and open to the public. However, there are alot of private roads getting built in new developments - Anthony Lane, Abbey Lane, Cinnamon Lane being examples. River Road is owned by the people who live there, just like the private common driveways behind many rowhouses in Roxborough and East Falls. Private roads can be closed if the owners decide to do so, which River Road is at the county line.

and the people are responsible for its up keep. who in the state is making the city pay for your private rd

The water department has more money than God, and when they need to do something like put in a new sewer, they restore the trees, road, and sidewalk to the status quo ante. I think that it is odd that that area still has no public sewers. Spring Lane, School House Lane, and Springbank Road, all in the old Roxborough Township, have gotten public sewers in the past few years.

thanks for the info. still don't sit right with me but hey money is spent on city jails. not exactly a place i'd like to cut thru

Strikes me that if the homeowners decide to make their road "private" they should have to forfeit getting improvements at the taxpayers expense in change for their "privacy."