Community Action Without Division : Protecting the Wissahickon Is Not Anti-Anyone.

Today, as I write this, our petition has a little under 1,500 signatures. 

While we are gaining momentum, and accomplishing temporary and short-term goals, the nature of the petition is to secure a permanent resolution to a conflict that is directly contributing and facilitating the further destruction of the Wissahickon Creek. 

There is a clear correlation between these unlawful swim parties and the increase in pollution caused by garbage dumping and litter.  The amount of trash left behind has increased exponentially since the pandemic.  Even without the trash, the swim parties present clear risks to public safety. It's not only the unlawful swimming, and barbequing - on portable grills and makeshift firepits by those who haul in bags of charcoal - but also the presence of weapons and illegal drugs brought in by some individuals. Hikers have reported confrontations that left them shaken and unwilling to return to a park they once loved and visited frequently. 

Once these parties no longer take place, the amount of trash being left behind will be significantly reduced.  And once the trash is reduced, we can begin the work of restoring the Creek and removing existing pollution. Mitigating these fire hazards and removing the unsafe conditions caused by weapons and illegal drugs is necessary to protect the Creek and the people who visit it, so the park can return to being a place of peace and safety.  This is just as essential as reducing the trash itself.  None of that can happen until the swim parties end permanently. 

Some individuals have attempted to "flip the script" and claim that our petition is designed to exclude certain groups of people from enjoying the park.  This is simply not true. 

Wissahickon Valley Park belongs to all of us, and all are welcome - but in turn all must follow the rules. 
- We have no control over which individuals or groups choose to test the limits of the law and violate park rules. 
- We have no control over who decides to showcase unlawful and environmentally reckless behavior via social media. 
- We do, however, have control over how we respond - and we have chosen to do it the right way: by appealing to City Council demanding that the law be upheld and park rules enforced, so that we can all enjoy a clean, safe, and quiet space, that is for all of us. 

Since the petition began less than two weeks ago, some individuals have since taken down or made private their social media posts on Facebook and TikTok showing unlawful swimming and barbequing at the Devil's Pool, and other areas within Wissahickon Valley Park. Others have not, and some continue to post - even after last weekend's events and the coordinated crack-down by Parks & Recreation and the Philadelphia Police Department. 

This is exactly why our petition exists: not to target any group of people, but to address the blatant, ongoing violations that continue to harm the Wissahickon Creek. This is why our petition calls for hefty fines, the removal of individuals engaging in lawless actions, increased patrols throughout the area, and consistent enforcement of park rules. 

While it is tempting for our focus to shift to blaming specific people, or to retreat out of fear of being labelled, we must keep ourselves in check and remember that our cause is a right one - pro-environment, and pro-safety. 
Our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against blatant violations of park rules and additional lawless actions that are fostering an environment of fear, anxiety, and disorder in a place that it supposed to be peaceful and protected. 

Let's continue to stand in solidarity as a community and as a city and demand change so that we call all enjoy a clean, safe, and quiet park for all.  Let's Save The Wissahickon Creek - together.