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COURTHOUSE - New Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James
R. Matthews Thursday said he could not "out trail" former commissioners
chairman Michael D. Marino, who spearheaded the creation of the Perkiomen
Trail during his four years in office.
But that is
exactly what this new administration intends to do if it follows through
with a four-year trail plan that was unveiled Wednesday.
The new plan
calls for the creation of 29.5 miles of additional trails in the county,
some 7.5 miles more than the approximate 22-mile Perkiomen Trail,
according to county Deputy Chief Operating Officer Steven L. Nelson.
However, rather than concentrating on one trail, the new plan includes
extensions, connections and loops involving trails that already exist
throughout the county.
This is the first open-space initiative by the
new administration.
"I did not want to lose the momentum we had built
over the last four years," said Matthews, who in December directed the
county staff to prepare the new trail plan.
The new plan provides for
the following trail construction through the end of 2007:
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Schuylkill River Trail: 7 additional miles including extending the
multi-use trail from where the trail links with the Perkiomen Trail in
Upper Providence to Rt. 29 in Upper Providence and just across the bridge
from Phoenixville in Chester County, an extension running along Markley
Street from the trail in Norristown to the Norristown Farm Park and an
extension from Keystone Boulevard in Pottstown through West Pottsgrove to
the border in Berks County where it will eventually link with a trail that
will extend Reading.
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Audubon Loop: A 11/2- mile loop from the Perkiomen Trail to the
county-owned Audubon Sanctuary and Mill Grove property and then to the
Schuylkill Trail.
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Chester Valley Trail: A 51/2-mile from the Schuylkill River Trail in
Norristown through Bridgeport and King of Prussia where it will eventually
link with the trail coming up from Chester County.
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Lower Cross County Trail: An 8-mile trail from the Schuylkill River Trail
in Conshohocken through Plymouth and Whitemarsh to Bethlehem Pike in Fort
Washington.
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Cross County Connector Trail: A 1-mile segment connecting the Lower Cross
County Trail to the Lower Wissahickon Green Ribbon Trail in Whitemarsh.
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Lower Wissahickon Green Ribbon Trail: A 5-mile trail from the Fort
Washington Park in Whitemarsh through the panhandle section of Springfield
to Fairmont Park's Forbidden Drive.
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Perkiomen Trail: An additional 11/2 miles including a segment from Green
Lane borough to the Perkiomen Trail in the county's Green Lane Park, a Rt.
29 loop to the Green Lane Park Nature Center and the rehabilitation of a
stone arch bridge in Perkiomenville.
Unlike
the 200-plus acquisitions needed for the Perkiomen Trail, these trail
projects will only require the acquisition of land or easements on 64
properties owned by 52 individuals. County trail officials said they
expect only a handful of these acquisitions to be "unfriendly."
The
estimated cost of this trail work is $16.38 million including $11 million
from the county, $80,000 from the state and $5.3 million from the federal
government.
The county's $11 million will come from the $150-million
in open-space borrowings that voters last November authorized over the
next 10 years. Nelson estimated that the county's cost of the trail work
is equal to $1.70 a resident for the next 25 years.
In addition to
keeping up the trail momentum from the last administration, this work will
address the concerns of some that the bulk of the $150 million would be
spent on county and municipal open-space projects in the more rural part
of the county while those in the more populous eastern section would be
left footing the bill, according to Matthews.
"As you can see from
these endeavors, it is more favorable to the east over the next four
years," said Matthews.
Also, the proposed trail plans with linkages to
Chester County and Philadelphia show that the county is a "regional
player," said Matthews.
Margaret Gibbons can be reached at
[EMAIL PROTECTED] or 610-272-2501 ext. 216.
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