July-August Newsletter
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Warner Spur Multi-Use Trail Master Plan
Warner Spur Multi-Use Trail Master Plan Chester County Tredyffrin Township Prepared by: December 2019 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Prepared for the In partnership with Tredyffrin Township Chester County Board of Commissioners Plan Advisory Committee Michelle Kichline Zachary Barner, East Whiteland Township Kathi Cozzone Mahew Baumann, Tredyffrin Township Terence Farrell Les Bear, Indian Run Road Association Stephen Burgo, Tredyffrin Township Carol Clarke, Great Valley Association Consultants Rev. Abigail Crozier Nestlehu, St. Peter's Church McMahon Associates, Inc. Jim Garrison, Vanguard In association with Jeff Goggins, Trammel Crow Advanced GeoServices, Corp. Rachael Griffith, Chester County Planning Commission Glackin Thomas Panzak, Inc. Amanda Lafty, Tredyffrin Township Transportation Management Association of Tim Lander, Open Land Conservancy of Chester County Chester County (TMACC) William Martin, Tredyffrin Township Katherine McGovern, Indian Run Road Association Funding Aravind Pouru, Atwater HOA Dave Stauffer, Chester County Department of Facilities and Parks Grant funding provided from the William Penn Brian Styche, Chester County Planning Commission Foundation through the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Regional Trails Program. Warner Spur Multi-Use Trail Master Plan TABLE OF CONTENTS Page EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 | Background 3 | Conceptual Improvement Plan Introduction 1-1 Conceptual Improvement Plan 3-1 History and Previous Plans 1-1 Conceptual Design Exhibits for Key 3-8 Connections and Crossings Study Area 1-2 Public and Emergency -
Welcome, New Board Members Got to Know the Late Director of the “Certainly the Rainforest Is Important, but So Is the Temperate Forest,” Asserts Schmidt
Thomas M. Schmidt While with the WPC, Schmidt directed several key proj- ects, including the Pittsburgh Park and Playground Fund, VP & General Counsel, retired which constructed parklets, playgrounds and greenways Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to bring natural amenities to disadvantaged neighborhoods; the Ligonier Easement Project, one of the largest conser- I have been a director of the vation and scenic easement programs in Pennsylvania, Allegheny Land Trust since it was protecting over 4,000 acres; and the Fallingwater Museum, created at the recommendation for which he raised funds, worked with curators and of Allegheny County 2001. contractors, and added features that helped increase “Like many people in our region, I annual visitation. A publication of Allegheny Land Trust Summer 2002 have been interested in the outdoors In addition, Schmidt is a founder of the Land Trust and science since I was young. My Alliance and trustee of the National Aviary. mother was a bird watcher, and I Welcome, New Board Members got to know the late director of the “Certainly the rainforest is important, but so is the temperate forest,” asserts Schmidt. “The most recent Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Dr. M. Graham Robert T. MacLachlan, MD helped secure preservation of Netting, who became a sort of mentor. As a teenager, Bioblitz inventories of our largest urban parks found A physician by training, MacLachlan has no formal Wingfield Pines, the Trust’s newest I participated in one of the museum’s paleontology unknown and unexpected species—further proof that we environmental experience, but since a young age, he’s acquisition. expeditions out West. -
Safety and Etiquette Guide
SAFETY GUIDELINES A Trail for Everyone, About the Montour Trail No Matter Their Abilities! Honored by the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources People with physical disabilities are welcome to use Trail Rules for ALL USERS as the state’s 2017 Trail of the the Montour Trail, and the Council’s mobility-impaired Year, the Montour Trail is the policies address their special needs. All trail users are expected to obey the following rules, longest suburban rail-trail in the which are posted at all major trailheads: • Wheelchairs are always permitted, whether U.S., encompassing 63 miles. 1. No motorized vehicles powered or not. Running through communities west and south of • Other powered mobility devices are allowed if they 2. Keep right, except to pass Pittsburgh, the trail follows the abandoned rights of way are less than 36 inches wide and travel less than 3. Warn before passing of the Montour Railroad and the Peters Creek branch of 15 mph under their own power on a level surface. 4. Stay on the trail the Pennsylvania Railroad. • E-bikes, which are pedal devices with an electric 5. Leash your pet assist motor, must meet certain conditions: power The Montour Trail connects Pittsburgh International 6. Trail open daily, dawn to dusk rating less than 750 watts, weight under 100 Airport to the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP), which pounds, and top speed 15 mph. joins up with the C&O Canal Towpath that leads to 7. Camp only in designated areas Washington, DC. • Devices powered by internal combustion engines 8. No horses are never permitted on the Montour Trail. -
Keystone Fund Projects by Applicant (1994-2017) Propose DCNR Contract Requeste D Region Applicant Project Title # Round Grant Type D Award Allocatio Funding Types
Keystone Fund Projects by Applicant (1994-2017) Propose DCNR Contract Requeste d Region Applicant Project Title # Round Grant Type d Award Allocatio Funding Types Alverthorpe Manor BRC-PRD- Region 1 Abington Township Cultural Park (6422) 11-3 11 Development $223,000 $136,900 Key - Community Abington Township TAP Trail- Development BRC-PRD- Region 1 Abington Township (1101296) 22-171 22 Trails $90,000 $90,000 Key - Community Ardsley Wildlife Sanctuary- BRC-PRD- Region 1 Abington Township Development 22-37 22 Development $40,000 $40,000 Key - Community Briar Bush Nature Center Master Site Plan BRC-TAG- Region 1 Abington Township (1007785) 20-12 20 Planning $42,000 $37,000 Key - Community Pool Feasibility Studies BRC-TAG- Region 1 Abington Township (1100063) 21-127 21 Planning $15,000 $15,000 Key - Community Rubicam Avenue Park KEY-PRD-1- Region 1 Abington Township (1) 1 01 Development $25,750 $25,700 Key - Community Demonstration Trail - KEY-PRD-4- Region 1 Abington Township Phase I (1659) 4 04 Development $114,330 $114,000 Key - Community KEY-SC-3- Region 1 Aldan Borough Borough Park (5) 6 03 Development $20,000 $2,000 Key - Community Ambler Pocket Park- Development BRC-PRD- Region 1 Ambler Borough (1102237) 23-176 23 Development $102,340 $102,000 Key - Community Comp. Rec. & Park Plan BRC-TAG- Region 1 Ambler Borough (4438) 8-16 08 Planning $10,400 $10,000 Key - Community American Littoral Upper & Middle Soc/Delaware Neshaminy Watershed BRC-RCP- Region 1 Riverkeeper Network Plan (3337) 6-9 06 Planning $62,500 $62,500 Key - Rivers Keystone Fund Projects by Applicant (1994-2017) Propose DCNR Contract Requeste d Region Applicant Project Title # Round Grant Type d Award Allocatio Funding Types Valley View Park - Development BRC-PRD- Region 1 Aston Township (1100582) 21-114 21 Development $184,000 $164,000 Key - Community Comp. -
Paul Mitsdarfer by Bruce Barron
The Official Publication of the Montour Trail Council MONTOUR TRAIL-LETTER Celebrating 30 Years Volume 30 Issue 2 March-April 2019 The Originals: Paul Mitsdarfer by Bruce Barron The creation of oral history is typically a race against time, an effort to capture the invaluable recollections of heroes while they are still with us. The 13 Montour Trail originals being featured in this series—the 12 members of the board established in late 1989 plus legal counsel Dick Wilson—are all still alive, but we regret not getting to Paul Mitsdarfer sooner. Paul suffered cardiac arrest in October and is currently living at a rehabilitation center, wide-eyed and full of enthusiasm but capable of only limited verbal communication. Happily, Paul’s faithful wife, Dottie, has helped us to piece together the details so that we can appropriately honor his contributions to the Montour Trail. Paul and Dottie rented a townhouse on Scott Lane in Peters Township, very close to where the Montour Railroad passed under Brush Run Road, in the early 1980s. Paul recalled seeing trains occasionally during the last year before the rail line was abandoned. The end of train travel on the Montour gave Paul—who completed 11 marathons at places like Gettysburg, Wheeling, and Ottawa before the Pittsburgh Marathon came into existence, and who celebrated his 40th birthday with a 40-mile run—a great workout facility. Dottie, who joined Paul for some of his shorter runs, remembered having to watch out for kids zooming along recklessly on motorbikes as they jogged beside the railroad tracks. -
Bill Metzger Most Bikers on the C&O Canal Towpath Take Three Days to Travel Between Cumberland, Maryland and Washington, D.C
The Official Publication of the Montour Trail Council MONTOUR TRAIL-LETTER The 2017 Pennsylvania Trail of the Year Volume 29 Issue 4 July-August 2018 Part 2 of the Originals: Bill Metzger Most bikers on the C&O canal towpath take three days to travel between Cumberland, Maryland and Washington, D.C. In 1981, Bill Metzger spent two weeks there, and his experience helped to make him an original contributor to the development of the Montour Trail. Metzger had recently ended six years of traveling all over the country by rail, assisting with heavy equipment transports, and had launched a career as a freelance photographer in suburban Pittsburgh. When he learned about the C&O trail from an article he read, he decided that he had to ride it—regardless of the quality of his equipment. “I had a crappy 10-speed bike,” Metzger laughed, “along with a sleeping bag earned from Green Stamps, a 25-dollar Sears tent that leaked the first time it rained, and a bike floor pump all held together by rope. It looked like the bike version of the Beverly Hillbillies truck. I took the train to Altoona, biked to Cumberland, and then spent two weeks on the trail.” That means averaging about 15 miles a day on the towpath. Some days, Metzger just read and admired the scenery—and the solitude. “Back in 1981,” he recalled, “when you passed someone on the trail, you stopped and talked, because it might be the only person you’d see all day.” After that, Metzger bought a better bike. -
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania ROUTE The Great American Rail-Trail route through Pennsylvania connects New York—from the shores of Lake Erie to the confluence of the several existing trails with one trail gap just west of Pittsburgh. Three Rivers in Pittsburgh and on to the Ohio River and Appalachian By connecting the trail through Pittsburgh, the Great American foothills. Rail-Trail also connects to the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition (IHTC), a vision for a 1,500-mile network of trails that is part of RTC found and reviewed 22 plans in Pennsylvania to better RTC’s TrailNation™ portfolio. The IHTC network will stretch across understand the commonwealth’s trail priorities. A full list of these 51 counties in four states—Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and plans can be found in Appendix A. TABLE 6 GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL STATISTICS IN PENNSYLVANIA Total Great American Rail-Trail Existing Trail Miles in Pa. (% of Total State Mileage) 161.3 (93.8%) Total Great American Rail-Trail Trail Gap Miles in Pa. (% of Total State Mileage) 10.6 (6.2%) Total Trail Gaps in Pa. 1 Total Great American Rail-Trail Miles in Pa. 171.9 TABLE 7 GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL ROUTE THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA Existing Trail or Trail Gap Name Length in Pa. Along Great American Rail-Trail (in Miles) Great Allegheny Passage 124.3 Three Rivers Heritage Trail 3.6 TRAIL GAP 1 – Pittsburgh to Coraopolis 10.6 Montour Trail 17.5 Panhandle Trail 15.9 Total Miles 171.9 Existing Trail Miles 161.3 Trail Gap Miles 10.6 railstotrails.org 23 24 GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL ROUTE ASSESSMENT MAP 3: PENNSYLVANIA greatamericanrailtrail.org GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL ROUTE ASSESSMENT PENNSYLVANIA Great Allegheny Passage (gaptrail.org) in Pennsylvania GREAT ALLEGHENY PASSAGE The GAP enters Pennsylvania just north of Frostburg, Maryland, and it will continue to host the Great American Rail-Trail through Total Length (in Miles) 150.0 Pennsylvania for 124.3 miles through rolling hills and forestland Total Length Along Great to Pittsburgh. -
Montour Run Watershed: a Case for Conservation
Acknowledgments Funding forthis project has been provided by the Rivers Conservation Program of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Peaceable Kingdom Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, and the Hollow Oak LandTrust. Additional funding for publication of this booklet was provided by grants from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and from the Canaan Valley Institute. The project has been sponsored by the Montour Valley Alliance, an informal coalition of community-based organizations concerned with balancing needed economic development with protection of the significant natural and cultural resources of the Montour Run Watershed. Rivers Conservation Program Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources The DCNR Rivers Conservation Programis a Keystone Grant Program specifically designed to assist municipalities andriver conservation groups to restore, maintain, and enhance river resources and values. River conservation groups must be municipalities or nonprofits with a river, stream, or watershed conservation mission, who are designated to act on behalf of interested municipalities to undertake the project. Planning grants are available to study and define significant natural and cultural resources, issues, concerns, and special opportunities and to provide recommendations for action in a watershed or stream/river corridor. Implementation grants can be obtained to carry out studies for additional resource information that would be necessary to make informed decisions. Development grants are possible to assist with the construction of projects identified during planning and appear as a management option in the plan. Acquisition grants are available to obtain conservation easements or actual purchase of those lands deemed important to achieve a conservation goal. -
LA20 Biscotti Basket Bidding Begins at $30 Donated by Beth Hedin A
LA20 Biscotti Basket LA3 One Reiki Session Bidding begins at $30 Bidding begins at $30 Donated by Beth Hedin Donated by BK Kosmach A basketful of many flavors of biscotti, a dozen each of Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and about 5 flavors. Most are sweet, some savory. All are inner peace. It also promotes healing as it releases freezable. The recipes will all be from "Ciao Biscotti", by obstructed energy. The receiver is fully clothed in a Domenica Marchetti, a book that will be included in the seated or lying position. The reiki practitioner places basket. A few baking tools will be included as well. hands directly on or just above the body. BK has been a Happy baking, and eating! reiki practitioner for over 15 years. She can work with you or a loved one either in person or from a distance, LA54 Babysitting in and around Mt. Lebanon as she has been trained in both direct and distance Bidding begins at $15 healing. Donated by Ella Magaw LA5 Handmade Soda-Fired Pot For toddlers and up. Ella Magaw, age 14 (with Jim or Bidding begins at $60 Marta on call), will babysit one or two children for up to Donated by Carrilee & John Hemington four hours on a Friday afternoon or evening, a Saturday anytime, or a Sunday afternoon/early evening until This bowl was wood and soda fired. As a result it has a 8pm. She's had a babysitting class with first aid and texture quite different from much pottery frequently some good experience in our neighborhood. -
Peter Kohnke by Bruce Barron
The Official Publication of the Montour Trail Council MONTOUR TRAIL-LETTER Celebrating 30 Years Volume 30 Issue 4 July-August 2019 The Originals: Peter Kohnke by Bruce Barron If you’ve ever wanted to experience what the early days of the Montour Trail Council were like, go and see Peter Kohnke as he lives through them a second time. This time, Peter is envisioning a two-mile “Central Bethel Park Trail” that would run northeast from South Park Road to Millennium Park. On our interview day, he had just visited the manager of an apartment complex behind which the trail would pass. “I’m so glad to hear about this,” the manager told him. “I look at other complexes that have trails running beside them and I get ‘trail envy.’” Not all the responses are positive, though. At least two homeowners have told Peter they don’t want a trail coming near them. Peter holds a model of the 3rd stage of the Saturn V But Peter’s accustomed to dealing with skeptics. He’s been down this path before, as the rocket which he designed and oversaw as his first job pioneer of the existing 2.8-mile Bethel Branch of the Montour Trail system. out of Purdue Universisty. When he started promoting the idea of a Bethel Branch in the 1990s, Peter says, “Neighbors told me that intruders would enter their backyards from the trail, steal their television sets, and kidnap their daughters. Now, when they put their house up for sale, these same people advertise that the Montour Trail is in their backyard as it will command a premium.” Continues page 4. -
Table 6 Great American Rail-Trail Statistics in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania ROUTE The Great American Rail-Trail route through Pennsylvania connects from the shores of Lake Erie to the confluence of the Three Rivers in several existing trails with one trail gap just west of Pittsburgh. By Pittsburgh and on to the Ohio River and Appalachian foothills. connecting the trail through Pittsburgh, the Great American Rail- Trail also connects to the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition (IHTC), RTC found and reviewed 22 plans in Pennsylvania to better a vision for a 1,500-mile network of trails that is part of RTC’s understand the commonwealth’s trail priorities. A full list of these TrailNation portfolio. The IHTC network will stretch across 51 counties plans can be found in Appendix A. in four states—Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York— TABLE 6 GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL STATISTICS IN PENNSYLVANIA Total Great American Rail-Trail Existing Trail Miles in Pa. (% of Total State Mileage) 161.3 (93.8%) Total Great American Rail-Trail Trail Gap Miles in Pa. (% of Total State Mileage) 10.6 (6.2%) Total Trail Gaps in Pa. 1 Total Great American Rail-Trail Miles in Pa. 171.9 TABLE 7 GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL ROUTE THROUGH PENNSYLVANIA Existing Trail or Trail Gap Name Length in Pa. Along Great American Rail-Trail (in Miles) Great Allegheny Passage 124.3 Three Rivers Heritage Trail 3.6 TRAIL GAP 1 – Pittsburgh to Coraopolis 10.6 Montour Trail 17.5 Panhandle Trail 15.9 Total Miles 171.9 Existing Trail Miles 161.3 Trail Gap Miles 10.6 railstotrails.org 23 24 GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL ROUTE ASSESSMENT MAP 3: PENNSYLVANIA greatamericanrailtrail.org GREAT AMERICAN RAIL-TRAIL ROUTE ASSESSMENT PENNSYLVANIA Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania GREAT ALLEGHENY PASSAGE The GAP enters Pennsylvania just north of Frostburg, Maryland, and it will continue to host the Great American Rail-Trail through Total Length (in Miles) 150.0 Pennsylvania for 124.3 miles through rolling hills and forestland Total Length Along Great to Pittsburgh. -
2016 Bike Rack Program
2016 Bike Rack Program DO YOU WANT BIKE RACKS? We’re offering discounted Dero® Hitch Bike Racks (a $200 value!) to businesses and organizations that serve trail users in these Trail Towns: Erie-to-Pittsburgh Trail: Foxburg, Emlenton, Franklin, Oil City, Titusville Trans-Allegheny Trails: Saltsburg, Ebensburg Great Allegheny Passage: Homestead through Meyersdale Sheepskin Trail: Dunbar, Point Marion Montour Trail: Applicable recreation/tourism businesses near the trail What we will do: If you’re a municipality or nonprofit, we’ll send you up to five bike racks for free. No charge. If you’re a business, we’ll send you up to five bike racks for just $50 per rack. Discuss with you your best options and placement for racks. Dero® Hitch Bike Rack Simple, slim, functional, and What you will do: classy in black. A PVC coat Work with us to figure out your best options and placements for racks. makes a softer surface and Allow anyone to use them for temporary bike parking. double weather protection. Sign an acceptance agreement and submit payment. http://www.dero.com/ Install your new rack. Instructions will be provided. product/bike-hitch/ Deadlines: Program available December 16, 2015 Request forms submitted by February 29, 2016. Award notices will be sent after March 11, 2016. Acceptance waivers and checks (if applicable) must be returned by March 31, 2016. All racks must be installed by May 31, 2016. NOTE: Quantity is limited and will be distributed based on availability. The Trail Town Program® is an initiative of The Progress Fund. Sign up to receive Trail Town News at www.trailstowns.org.