You Can't Wait for These 5 Upcoming Philly Parks to Happen

Today is the final day of Outdoors Week Extravaganza! We've sung the praises of Philly's lesser known parks, checked in on some crazy outdoor space for home buyers and renters and mapped our favorite Cool Down Jawns in this great city. Today, burst open the polls and start the voting for Philly's Best Dog Park. voting opens promptly at 1pm — so be on the look out! To kick off our final day, we're highlighting five upcoming parks that you'se guys just can't wait to open.

1.) Dilworth Park, Center City at City Hall
There are some high hopes for City Hall's Dilworth Park. Lauded as Philly's answer to New York's Bryant Park as well as Millennium Park in Chicago in Center City District's pump up video, Dilworth looks to transform the unwelcoming, albeit beautiful, slabs of closed off granite in favor of an accessible open plan. They've reused the granite for the underground concourse, which is also getting a much needed makeover in the form of beautiful north/south facing glass entrances. There will now be a cafe right on the plaza. This will be the place to go and chill in Center City. Dilworth Park is expected to open sometime in September.

2.) Schuylkill River Boardwalk, Fitler Square
How do we connect connect a pinched portion of the trail from Locust Street to the new South Street Bridge? Why, we we build a crazy boardwalk, of course! The structure is 2,000 feet long and will have access bridge that span back to the trail at various points. Visitors to the trail will be able to run, walk, bike or simply chill out over the Schuykill River. There will be four lookout points, so you won't be run over, either! The entrance forks at Locust Street, allowing you to either continue onto the boardwalk or head over to the equally impressive Schuylkill River Park, complete with doggie park overlook! While construction hit a snag due to some flooding issues, tools were lost, the structure is sound and moving forward. Look for this amazing project to be completed sometime this fall.

3.) Piers 53 & 68, Delaware River in Pennsport
With all of the projects on the Philly's two great rivers, it's almost as if they're trying to one-up each other to see who can open Philly's next great park. Stemming from the success of the Race Street Pier and its connector street, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation is looking to extend the trail to create a southern booked. Pier 53, at Washington Avenue and Columbus Boulevard, will focus on the ecological wonders and historical importance of the site. There will be an elevated boardwalk and public art installation called entitled Land Buoy from artist Jody Pinto. Pier 68 will connect the trail southward and feature fishing, chill zones and more ecological goodness. Pier 53 and Pier 68 will be open sometime this summer/fall and next spring/summer, respectively.

4.) Manayunk Bridge Trail, Manayunk and Lower Merion Township
The premise is simple. Take an unused and glorious bridge that spans the great Schuylkill River and connect three local trails to make one amazing outdoors experience. That's exactly what the Manayunk Bridge project hopes to accomplish when it transform the soaring former SEPTA and railroad bridge and fuse the Schuylkill River Trail with the Cynwyd Heritage Trail and Ivy Ridge Trail. Bikers, runners, walkers and photographers are going to go nuts when they see the views from this baby. Construction is just beginning and look for it to open sometime in the next 12 to 15 months.

5.) The Rail Park Noble Street Spur, North Broad Street
Every mega-project has to start somewhere. It's usually a small project without much fanfare until the larger pieces start falling into place. That is the exact opposite of the Noble Street Spur section of The Rail Park. Studio Bryan Hanes heads up the designs and they are brilliant, accessible and reminscent of his former work in Sister Cities, Race Street Pier and Pier 68. People have grandiose plans for the rest of the Reading Viaduct but the completion of this park, estimated at $8.5M, would spark the beginning of what could be a transformation park project for Philadelphia. Talks with SEPTA, owner of the Noble Street Spur, are on-going. Sadly, there is no firm timeline for construction but it's certainly gaining steam and, perhaps more importantly, money.

· Spotted: 10 Dilworth Details [Plan Philly]
· Boardwalk and South Street Ramp [Schuylkill Banks]
· Sneak Peek: Pier 53 is Starting to Take Shape in Pennsport [Curbed Philly]
· Pier 68 to Transform from Eyesore to Beautiful Public Park [Curbed Philly]
· Starting The Second Life Of A Manayunk Icon [Hidden City]
· Construction on the Manayunk Bridge Starting Soon [Curbed Philly]
· Elevated park on rail viaduct finally firming up [Philly.com]
· When will construction start on Phase 1 of the Rail Park? [Plan Philly]
· More Outdoors Week Coverage [Curbed Philly]