Hot On the Trail of a Regional Trail System

Fuzzy Photo by Evan Brandt

The Pottsgrove Trail, one of four major trails proposed in the study, would stretch up Pleasantview Road from High Street, then head northwest along Buchert Road, slide along the woods at the edge of the Pottsgrove High School property, through the Brookside Restaurant property and cross North Charlotte Street there near the entrance for Sunset Park and them up to Hollenbach Park on North Hanover Street, opposite Pottsgrove Middle School.

Years in the making, and years yet to reach completion, a plan to expand and connect trails throughout the greater Pottstown area and to the ever-more popular Schuylkill River Trail took an important step last night.

A public hearing on the Tri-County Trail Study attracted about 14 people Wednesday night and also revealed details about the proposals, including their eye-popping cost.

Michael Lane, the regional recreation director, outlined the plans that include four or five primary trail systems (depending on how you count them), each of which will be completed in segements as funding becomes available, and said it may be 10 or 20 years before the trails outlined in the study are actually built.

The highlighted section shows the first priority for the Coventry Trail.

The first he revealed is the Coventry Trail, which begins out of Kenilworth Park and stretch up along the township line between North and East Coventry before heading west to eventually connect with the trail system in French Creek State Park.

When complete, it could cost between $1.2 million to $1.7 million, said Lane.

Missing is a link between Kenilworth Park and the the Schuylkill River Trail, which will cross the river back into Montgomery County on the new Route 422 bridge now being built. From there, it will proceed along Industrial Highway in Pottstown to Riverfront Park on a section of the trail now also being built.

A second, and less expensive trail, is called the West Trail. It will proceed from the Schuylkill River
Trail through West Pottsgrove up Grosstown Road to Manatawny Street, where it will connected to Murgia Park, along Manatawny Creek and across from the intersection with Sell Road.

That section is only anticipated to cost $546,845.

There, it will connect with a third primary trail called the Manatawny Trail, which will stretch along the west bank of Manatawny Creek from Memorial Park, beneath Route 100 and along the Colebrookdale Railroad line.

The outlined sections show the priority segments of the West and 

Manatawny trails as proposed in the regional study.

A pedestrian bridge is planned to cross Manatawny Creek near Murgia Park as well as a smaller bridge to connect the two sides of Murgia Creek on either side of Goose Run.

The Manatawny Trail, with completed, could cost between $2.5 million and $2.7 million. The priority section of this trail would stretch from Memorial Park to under the Route 100 bridge to allow for safer pedestrian crossing of Route 100.

That section became a priority in the trail plan  after 24-year-old Donald Purnell was struck and killed while trying to cross Route 100 at Shoemaker Road as he was trying to get to his job at Wendy’s.

West trail will also have a connections to a trail through the West Pottsgrove Township Park behind the township building and into the Circle of Progress to connect with Sly Fox Brewery there. The Manatawny Trail will also connect to the Circle of Progress there.

The next trail is called the Pottsgrove Trail, and it is envisioned to stretch up Pleasantview Road from High Street, turn left near Buchert Road, after making its way through Gerald Richards Park, and reach Pottsgrove High School.

There, it will skirt the edges of the woods and make its way through the Brookside Restaurant property to emerge on North Charlotte Street near the entrance to Sunset Park in Upper Pottsgrove.

The sprawling and more conceptual Upper West Trail

The crossing of that busy road, which is also Route 663, will become safer now that PennDOT has agreed to lower the speed limit on North Charlotte Street to 25 miles per hour between Mervine Street and School Lane.

From there make its way to Hollenbach Park on North Hanover Street, opposite Pottsgrove Middle School.

This is also the point at which the Pottsgrove Trail will connect with the Walk Bike Pottstown trail
system now under construction in the borough, which will provide another connection to Riverfront Park and the Schuylkill River Trail there.

The final section is called the Upper West Trail and it is more conceptual now than the other trails, this given that it envisions a connection through New Hanover Township to the Perkiomen Trail in Green Lane.

The cost of that trail runs anywhere from $2.3 million to $4 million or $5 million depending on what kind of options are pursued, such as allowing equestrian access on certain portions.

The section of the Upper West Trail which has been prioritized

However, a small portion has been prioritized that would connect Murgia Park with the Goose Run Recreation Area in Douglass (Berks) Township. The route will depend on whether negotiations with Waste Management, which owns the Pottstown Landfill, results in allowing access through that property.

That cost is currently estimated at about $800,000.

Whenever possible, the trails use public parks, public properties and public right of ways in order to avoid private property.

Lane said that no trail would proceed through private property without those property owners first agreeing to negotiate.

A resident of North Coventry, who declined to give his name for publication, and Marc Kenline of Pottstown both said there should be more notification of private property owners who could be affected by the planned trails.

A 30-day public comment period continues through Sept. 2 and can be sent to lane in writing at Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee, 140 College Dr., Pottstown, PA 19464.

And now what you've all been waiting for ... THE TWEETS!

Regional Recreation and Stewardship

Photos by Evan Brandt

This map shows the many factors which will go into an upcoming multi-regional greenway and stewardship study in Montgomery and Chester counties.

Well, the summer is over and that means that the Pottstown Metropolitan Regional Planning Committee has started meeting again and after two months of absence, they had some pretty good stuff stored up.

Justin Keller with his October events calendar.

First of all, it was the time for the one-year review of how the regional recreation effort, headed by circuit rider Justin Keller is going.

Judging by the successes, the grants and the plans -- the answer seems to be "pretty well."

He outlined a number of initiatives, including a new one at the West Pottsgrove Township Pool which sounds interesting, and said in addition to obtaining about $100,000 in grants this year, there is still nearly $173,000 pending (delayed because of the budget impasse).

He has also produced a monthly events calendar which is catching on and may also be used for long-term planning.

Also of great interest is an effort that involves not just the Pottstown regional planning committee, but several others throughout Montgomery County.

Montgomery County planner Matt Schelly outlines the 

multi-regional study to the Pottstown area planners.

Matt Schelly from the Montgomery County Planning Commission outlined how the Multi-Regional
Greenway and Stewardship Study will work, and the ways in which it will be helpful not only to municipalities, but to private property owners as well.

Of particular interest to me, a poor student of geology, was the many ways a particular type of soil, called diabase, had influenced the land use in the region.

Land uses, such as forest, agriculture, watersheds and ridge lines, important birding areas, will all guide a comprehensive look at a large region that will produce specific recommendations geared toward maintenance, stewardship and best practices.

Interesting stuff for the policy wonks in the room.

Anyway, you can read about it all, as I Tweeted it live, as if you were there in the room.

A Chance to Share in a Shared Vision

The cover of 'Montgomery County Today,' the report written in preparation of an new comprehensive plan for Montgomery County.

An opportunity for any Tom, Dick or Harry (Or Flo, Jill or Mary for that matter) to have input into the future of Montgomery County (and thus Pottstown and environs) will take place Monday night at Steel River Playhouse at 245 E. High St.

That is when the Montgomery County Planning Commission will hold the first of its series of four public input sessions before embarking on writing a new comprehensive plan that will guide development in the county until 2040.

Source: Montgomery County Today

Commuting patterns in and out of Montgomery County 

are an important 

consideration when planning for the future.

The session will run from 7 to 9 p.m. and is just about the only session to occur in western Montgomery County.

Other sessions are in Colmar, Fort Washington and King of Prussia.

Why is this important?

Well, how many times have you seen a development go up, a bridge fixed (or abandoned), or a new shopping center put an old one out of business and thought to yourself, "why the heck did they do that?"

The answer may well be, "it was part of the comprehensive plan."

Although these plans do not always get down to the kind of detail as to dictate the circumstances of a particular parcel, they often set regional trends, such as steering development along the Ridge Pike and Swamp Pike corridors up through Gilbertsville.

The plan "will provide an overall framework that guides decisions about important issues such as
highways, public transportation, trails, growth trends, redevelopment opportunities, overall housing needs, and natural systems," read an e-mail from the county, inviting residents to participate.

Think about how these things can be interconnected.

Houses, parking lots, roads can affect water run-off, which can cause flooding, which can affect land value, which can effect the economy, which can affect development....

You get the idea.

County income has dropped in the last 10 years.

Comprehensive plans are not always predictive; more of a guess-plus-wish-list than an iron-clad dictate for future development which is, after all, under the primary control of the local municipality.

When it comes to development, we want more in Pottstown.

A smaller version of the county comprehensive plan exists -- the Pottstown Metropolitan Area Regional Comprehensive Plan -- and encompasses the goals of the borough, the three surrounding Pottsgrove townships, Douglass (Mont.), New Hanover and the Chester County townships of East and North Coventry.

It calls for as much commercial development as is practical to be steered into the borough, to make it a commercial center and the hub of the region, thus also preserving open space in the surrounding towns.

Who says poverty is concentrated in a few 

older boroughs in Montgomery County?

That smaller comprehensive plan is also in the process of being updated, and the work is being done by the very same Montgomery County Planning Commission. 

Although one would hope the fact that both plans are being written by the same agency would mean they would complement each other, it never hurts so show up at the meeting and make sure.

The plan, which will be called “Montco 2040: A Shared Vision,” has begun with a look at current conditions, titled Montgomery County Today, that will serve as the launching point for planning for the future and the writing of Montco 2040.

You can read a summary of "Montgomery County Today" by clicking here; or read the entire plan by clicking here; or you can look at the 220-page flip-book version of Montgomery County Today below:

Why not have a look through the plan? It might give you some ideas about what you might like to see the county look like in the future. This is your chance to have a say.

(You can click this link to look at what the county plan will have to say by issue: such as health, housing, infrastructure, transportation, economy, cultural resources and more.)

This map shows Pottstown gained little population
in the last 10 years.

The writing of the county comprehensive plan will be overseen by a steering committee that will include two Pottstown representatives, Borough Manager Mark Flanders and David Kraybill, executive director of the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation.

Other area representatives include Scott Exley, a planning commission member, resident of Lower Pottsgrove and the president of Bursich Assoc.; Judy Memberg, executive director of Genesis Housing Inc., the non-profit housing agency so deeply involved in reviving Pottstown’s core neighborhood; Karen Stout, president of Montgomery County Community College and Charles Tornetta, local realtor and developer.

"Come and check out our display boards, ask our staff questions, and voice your opinion. Expect an interesting, interactive, and informative experience," said the county invitation.

If you can't make the Pottstown workshop meeting, here are the others: 

PUBLIC WORKSHOPS

• Nov. 19, 4 to 6 p.m. — North Penn Community Health Foundation, 2506 North Broad
  
  Street, Colmar;
• Nov. 20, 7 to 9 p.m. — Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington;
• Nov. 25, 4 to 6 p.m. — Upper Merion Township Building, 175 West Valley Forge Road, King of Prussia.

If you can't make any of the meetings, you can take an on-line survey to have some input. (You can access the survey by clicking here.)

Or heck, you can start your own public meeting and ask the planners to address your civic or neighborhood group. Find out how by clicking here.

But probably the best thing to do to start, would be to show up.