Consistency: The Key to Effective Enforcement.
It’s been a little over four weeks since we launched our petition, and we have a little over 1,800 signatures. People are still signing, but the pace has slowed over the past two weeks.
One reason is that many Philadelphians are still unaware that the petition exists. Another is simply the season: it is now September. While the weather remains warm, in a month it will be too chilly for swimming. And because Park Rangers and Police have been consistently present throughout Wissahickon Valley Park since the petition launched, some park-goers may feel that our goals have already been achieved – and that the petition is no longer necessary.
This could not be further from the truth.
While we have indeed accomplished some of our goals, those accomplishments are temporary, and the bulk of the work remains ahead of us.
Parks & Rec and the PPD have gone above and beyond over the past five weeks, and I believe they will continue monitoring the situation until summer officially draws to a close. But the goals outlined in our petition will take time to implement.
Everything we have asked requires City Council, Parks & Recreation, the PPD, - and even the FOW, who could assist with permanent signage - to evaluate their budgets and determine how to carry out what we have requested.
We are looking ahead to next spring and summer. We do not want next year to be a repeat of every year previous. We do not want another pandemic-style season, where large groups rent tour buses to descend on the park to swim, barbeque, and leave behind chaos.
One of the goals outlined in our petition is permanent signage in key areas and hotspots like Devil’s Pool. Another is consistent enforcement of existing park rules.
These seem like simple requests.
They are not.
The difficulty isn’t entirely because of the current shortage of Park Rangers or the limited availability of police. Parks & Rec and the PPD must operate within strict budgets. Police presence is necessary throughout the year – but not every day. Park Rangers, however, are needed daily, and the Fairmount Park System is huge. The limited number of Rangers that we do have is currently stretched across the entire system.
While Wissahickon Valley Park is just a small section of the Fairmount Park System – it has become the most problematic.
Limited Park Rangers are an issue, and gaining more is a challenge; but the main obstacle that we face is our track record.
For more than a decade – through no direct fault of Parks & Rec – years of inconsistent enforcement has fostered a culture of ignorance and apathy in which violations were ignored, and the public expectation is that rules are irrelevant.
This makes enforcement today far more difficult for Park Rangers and Police.
Someone who has been swimming in the Wissahickon Creek every summer for five years suddenly is told that he is not allowed to swim.
Based on my direct experience over the past month - standing alongside Police Officers and Park Rangers as they began enforcing the rules – the conversation often went something like this:
Excuse me, sir - step out of the water, please.
What did I do?
You can’t swim in the creek. It’s against the rules.
Since when?
Since today.
I’ve been swimming here for like five years.
I understand, but it’s against the rules. You’re going to have to step out of the water.
(Swimmer turns his back to the Officer)
Sir, please step out of the water.
Since when? That’s f*cked up.
Since today. Please step out of the water.
Someone who has been – intentionally or unintentionally – violating the rules for several years without consequence may feel slighted when enforcement finally occurs. He or she may be inclined to take it personally. So, it is understandable that some people perceive this sudden change as being “targeted,” even though that is not the case.
Some visitors are truly unaware that park rules exist, or which rules apply specifically to Wissahickon Valley Park, as opposed to the broader Fairmount Park System.
For example, while many of the rules are the same, and swimming is prohibited everywhere within the Fairmount Park System, barbequing is permitted only at designated locations such as pavilions and picnic areas equipped with preexisting stone fireplaces, built-in preinstalled city grills and elevated barbeque stands.
These are located in developed areas such as:
- Blue Bell Park Pavillion
- Belmont Grove Picnic Pavillion
- Belmont Plateau
- North George’s Hill Picnic Area
- South George’s Hill Picnic Area
- Lemon Hill Picnic Site 6
- Lemon Hill Picnic Site 8
- FDR Park
- Fisher Park
Within the Roxborough and Andorra neighborhoods, smaller parks and playgrounds individually retain additional rules:
- Pachella Field has no public grills or stone fireplaces. Personal grills are prohibited without an explicit sports league permit.
- John Boyce Memorial Field has no picnicking amenities, nor built in stone fireplaces or pre-installed city grills.
- Houston Playground, which borders the northwestern area of Wissahickon Valley Park and the 48-acre protected nature meadow, strictly prohibits grilling or barbequing unless it is “part of a staff run community event.”
- Al Pearlman Field, Hagys Field, and the 21st Ward Junior Baseball Field / League Complex, all expressly prohibit grilling or barbequing outside of a sanctioned league event, tournament, or game day.
Hauling in ones own metal barbeque stand is prohibited. Barbequing in wooded areas or protected watersheds (like Wissahickon Valley Park) is expressly prohibited.
Open-flame barbequing, ground fires, or campfires, (e.g., hauling in bags of charcoal for makeshift firepits) is explicitly prohibited.
The confusion about park rules concerning barbequing exists because permanent signage is lacking. Some visitors may be genuinely confused about the rules and mistakenly assume that they are fully within their rights when using the park.
Even though it is a known fact that swimming is prohibited everywhere within Fairmount Park, there is scattered signage within Wissahickon Valley Park. While there are “No Swimming” signs posted along Forbidden Drive, the majority are near the Valley Green Inn, and the Magarge and Livezey Dams. There is no signage along the Orange Trail indicating park rules, neither at the Devil’s Pool. The only signs present at Devil’s Pool are two permanent signs sponsored by the FOW politely stating the request to “Carry In / Carry Out” one's garbage.
The majority of the unlawful activities occur along the Orange Trail - in scattered locations where no signage exists. Most of the people venturing into the Wissahickon to engage in prohibited activities – like swimming and barbequing - are doing so along this trail. The Orange Trail – especially at Devil’s Pool - is very difficult for Police or Park Rangers to access. Unlike Forbidden Drive, which is wide and graveled, the Orange Trail is rugged, steep, and narrow, with rooted branches, large rocks, and uneven terrain. It’s breathtakingly scenic, but it presents a clear and present problem for law enforcement as access must be entirely on foot.
Emergency access for Fire and Rescue teams is even more limited. The only practical access points are Glen Fern (Livezey Lane) and the County Line Bridge (Valley Green Drive). The Mt. Airy Trail Entrance (Mt. Airy Ave) is not drivable except by Utility Task Vehicles, and Kitchen’s Lane leads to the White Trail. No offence intended, but it would resemble an episode of The Three Stooges for paramedics to attempt to park an ambulance there and then navigate the maze of intersecting trails from the White to the Orange in order to reach key party spots if someone were critically injured.
Trail markers in this area are sparse, and many paths loop around and interconnect in ways that make navigation difficult for even experienced hikers. There is nothing humorous about someone’s life hanging in the balance as EMTS scramble to reach a victim in time.
The dangerous delays in critical response time for police, fire, or EMS creates a major risk to public safety and is just one of the reasons that swimming and open-flame barbequing are explicitly prohibited in Wissahickon Valley Park.
Many people have been seriously injured or drowned in the Wissahickon Creek, – most often at Devil’s Pool, but not only there. The currents of the creek are unpredictable, and the creek bed is in flux, shifting constantly due to erosion, submerged debris, and large rocks which create hydraulic jumps and powerful undertows exacerbated by drop-offs and deep holes.
As the FOW reiterate on their website, “Just 6 inches of fast-moving water is enough to sweep an adult off their feet. Strong storm currents can easily pin a swimmer against submerged rocks, logs, or hidden debris.”
Raising public awareness about the dangers of swimming in the creek only goes so far. Most partygoers already know the potential risks and hazards and choose to disregard them. Public education and awareness of the rules, however, is an attainable and necessary goal.
Published newspaper and magazine articles are helpful, but – respectfully – the people partying at Devil’s Pool and along the Wissahickon Creek aren’t reading them.
Ignorance is bliss; but even in a court of law, it isn’t a valid defense. “I didn’t know” doesn’t exempt someone from consequences, it only explains them. Although consequences may be less severe on account of one’s ignorance of the rules, they still exist - and enforcement must be consistent. If we enforce for one person or group and not another, we open ourselves to accusations of targeting.
If permanent signage is installed, it facilitates ease of enforcement. It removes the pretense of not knowing – the “I didn’t see any signs,” “I wasn’t aware,” or “There’s nothing posted that says no swimming, no music, no barbeques, no alcohol …” You get the idea.
As it stands presently, our track record for enforcement of park rules is sporadic at best.
Violations are addressed only after situations escalate beyond reason and become unmanageable, which has contributed to widespread misunderstanding – and in some cases, outright disregard – of park rules and the law.
Our petition is not a reaction to a single summer; it is the culmination of more than a decade of chaos and disorder that has robbed Philadelphia residents of the peace and quiet that the Wissahickon is meant to provide.
We are not asking for anything unreasonable. We are asking for long-term sustainable solutions. Permanent signage, consistent enforcement, and clear communication of the rules are necessities for public safety and environmental protection. Consistency is the goal.
Temporary enforcement or short-term progress is detrimental to the cause and only sets the stage for future problems.
We are looking ahead to next spring and summer with the hope that the work we are doing now will make a lasting difference. Our goal is permanent change, not seasonal fixes.
Photo: The Wissahickon Creek as seen from the shoreline on Forbidden Drive, slightly south of Wises Mill Road. 6 September 2026