Papal Visit Impacting Boathouse Row, Rowing On Schuylkill River
By Justin Udo
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The pope's visit to Philadelphia is affecting how people can travel on the land and in the air. But it's also dampening travel on the water.
Boathouse Row on the Schuylkill River is in an interesting position. Part of the river that a lot of crew teams use is in the papal security zone and part is not.
So many of the rowers say to avoid any confusion, they're steering clear of the area during the visit of Pope Francis.
"We're not going to be rowing down here. We'll be practicing back on campus, just because there is no parking here," says John Hayburn, who coaches crew at Conestoga High School. "There's no way to get the kids in and out. It's just not going to work very well for us."
Hayburn says the festivities do bring a minor inconvenience, but they're not going to sweat the small stuff.
"It's one weekend," he says. "It's the fall. Honestly, it's the pope, so why not? I'm on board. I don't mind missing a weekend for the pope."
And since many houses along Boathouse Row are closing during papal weekend, even teams with away races are being forced to reschedule races until later on in their season because they can't get their gear.
During the papal visit, the Schuylkill River is off limits from the 34th Street Bridge to Girard Avenue.