The PA Environmental Council joined with its partners in the Greater Philadelphia Circuit Trails initiative to celebrate the opening of a new section of the Delaware & Lehigh Trail in Bristol Township, Bucks County December 16.

Trail users can now use a pedestrian crossing to get across Green Lane Road, then continue along the newly constructed side path to safely cross Route 13 at a new controlled intersection.

The project adds approximately 1,200 feet to the Delaware & Lehigh Trail through Bristol, closing a longstanding gap in what will eventually be the longest continuous trail in Pennsylvania.

“All of this restores continuity to the old towpath trail severed by Route 13 widening back in the 1950s,” PEC Executive Vice President Patrick Starr said.

The ultimate goal is to link communities across eastern Pennsylvania via the East Coast Greenway, which in turn will connect with the 750-mile Circuit Trails Network.

“Our rallying cry now is 500 miles built by 2025,” Starr said. “We are going to do it – one project at a time.”

Bristol Township officials formally opened the new section in a ribbon-cutting event attended by representatives from PEC and other groups, agencies, and businesses that contributed to the effort.

Those partners include: the D&L National Heritage Corridor, the East Coast Greenway, the Bucks Transportation Management Association, the Department of Transportation, DCNR State Parks, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, Traffic Planning & Design (engineer/designers), and the James D. Morrissey Company (construction contractors).

As with other trail projects around the state, PEC has played a leadership role in convening partners under the Circuit Trails initiative.

Similarly, PEC and the Pocono Forest and Waters Conservation Landscape work with the Lackawanna Heritage Valley, the North Pocono Trail Association, and the Anthracite Scenic Trails Association to organize the quarterly Northeast Pennsylvania Trails Forum.

In western Pennsylvania, PEC is working across state lines with the Rails to Trails Coalition and others in the Industrial Heartland Trails Coalition to build a 1,450 mile trail network linking the region with neighboring Ohio, New York, and West Virginia.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on Facebook.  Visit PEC’s Audio Room for the latest podcasts.  Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.

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[Posted Dec. 21, 2016]

12/26/2016