Manayunk Bridge Design Meeting, Thursday, Sept 15

Important Design Meeting on the Manayunk Bridge
Thursday, September 15, 2011
7pm
Lower Merion Township Board Room,
Ardmore, PA directions

As reported back in June on this blog, one of the critical gaps in the Regional Trail Network and a key segment of the Complete the Trail campaign is the Manayunk Bridge, which will link up the Cynwyd Trail (opening on September 24th) to the Schuylkill River Trail's Tow Path and on-road trail on Main and Umbria Streets.

Many stakeholders have prioritized building this highly visible trail segment. The City of Philadelphia, SEPTA, Lower Merion Township, Philadelphia's Parks and Recreation Dept., Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and several non-profits including the William Penn Foundation, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Schuylkill Project and Manayunk Dev. Corp and Pennsylvania Environmental Council have all been working hard to help build this trail segment under a tight deadline set by PennDOT's Community Transportation Initiative, which made a $1.3 M grant to the City of Philadelphia for construction of the trail.

No doubt, this project packs a lot in. It will connect two riverfront communities (Lower Merion Township and Manayunk) that each want and need a bike/ped connection to each other; open up an inactive railroad asset to the public and provide spectacular views of the Schuylkill River and Manayunk; and provide a new and important transportation option for students, employers and employees who live and work in LMT or Manayunk/Roxborough. Lastly, it will add considerable value to both the soon-to-be-open Cynywd Heritage Trail and the Schuylkill River Trail by connecting them. Ultimately, the trail will continue to the Ivy Ridge Station and hopefully, to Shawmont where it will connect with the paved portion of the Schuylkill River Trail.

The public's input on the design is welcome and invited. Please come to the Thursday, Sept. 15th meeting in Ardmore!