Phoenixville Eyes Return of Rail Service, Belgian Block Paving and a New Community Center

Photos by Evan Brandt

Railroad consultant Thomas Frawley addresses Phoenixville Borough Council Tuesday while the man paying for Frawley's analysis, local developer Manny DeMutis, watches the reactions.

Phoenixville Borough Council Tuesday voted in support of the efforts of Mayor Peter Urscheler's task force to return passenger rail service to Phoenixville, even if just on a demonstration basis.

Railroad consultant Thomas Frawley outlined a study he undertook for the task force in July which concluded that a demonstration project to provide rail service to Phoenixville, Schuylkill Township and a stop near King of Prussia would be undertaken for about $15 million.

Frawley said the group has a meeting next week with Norfolk-Southern, which owns the rail lines a passenger line would have to share. He also said the project would begin with just three runs during the morning rush hour and three in he evening.

Further details  are unchanged since Digital First Media reported on the proposal last month.

"I wish you luck where others have failed before you, as I would dearly love to see train service return to Phoenixville," said Council President James Kovaleski.

(We interrupt this blog post to bring you video of Mayor Peter Urscheler's monthly report which, for reasons beyond our tehnical ability to understand, never made it into our Twitter Feed):

The agenda item which seems to have drawn a larger crowd is a proposal, ultimately approved by council after three years of discussion, to remove Belgian block pavers from Church Avenue, referred to by most in the audience as "Church Alley," and re-pave the street with regular pavement.

On the pro side are residents of the street who say the pavement on the street, which has a grade of about 12 percent, is difficult to deal with in winter and is a safety hazard.

Against the proposal were a number of residents who spoke Tuesday, saying the street should be preserved as part of Phoenixville's historical charm.

Borough Manager E. Jean Krack pointed out that the Belgian block pavers were already moved once in the 1930s, when the third of four Gay Street bridges were constructed. He also pointed out there are plans to use them at the intersection of Church and Main streets, or Church and Gay streets, both of which are flatter and would pose less of a safety risk and provide higher visibility.

(We again interrupt this blog post to post video of a resolution council passed honoring the inestimable contributions of Mary Foote, president and executive director of the Association for the colonial Theatre:)



Also of importance Tuesday night was a step forward for the Phoenixville Community Center, a project in the works since 2013 and involved a property swamp in which the developers of an approved senior housing facility received the property of the former borough hall on Church Street, and the borough received property adjacent to Friendship Field on which to build a community center.

In July, Council granted final site plan approval to the senior housing facility, called Barclay Gardens.

Last night, council approved issuing bids for the community center which, according to Krack, will be 38,000 square feet and will include a gymnasium, offices for the parks and recreation department, a kitchen, work-out room and classrooms, as well as room to house a fire truck and ambulance in case of emergencies.

Remarkably, there is no public document that includes a cost estimate for the project, Krack said, saying with the project going out to bid on Monday, he has no desire to reveal the maximum amount the borough is willing to pay.

However much it does finally cost, it will be $1.5 million cheaper thanks to a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program state grant Krack said the borough only got the details on Tuesday.

Without further ado, here are the Tweets from last night's meeting:

Trains, Belgian Block and Community Centers