Hiking, biking trail network nears reality

KENNETT TOWNSHIP » Kennett Township’s longstanding vision of a regional trails network just took another long step off the planning table and into the real world.

The township for a while now has led an effort to create a network of trails that would roughly circle the borough, giving pedestrians and bicyclists ways to safely and efficiently get to places they actually wanted to go, as well as enjoy the outdoors and get some exercise.

Transportation that’s accessible to those without vehicles, that uses no fossil fuels, and provides health benefits for an increasingly sedentary society has for a

while now been a goal for the township government in general and in particular Michael Guttman, the township’s grants program and environmental sustainability director.

Kennett has successfully applied for a number of grants to make that vision a reality, step by step. But at their monthly meeting Wednesday night, the board of supervisors voted unanimously (Supervisor Richard Leff was absent) to make that effort even more of a cooperative venture among the adjacent municipalities.

Township Manager Lisa Moore said recently she had heard from the borough that they wanted to apply for a state Commonwealth Financing Authority multimodal grant, which is given to help enhance a municipality’s transportation infrastructure and promote

variety in the means of transportation.

Moore said she suggested that rather than have local municipalities competing for the money, they should apply together with a joint set of proposals. Joint applications have a much higher chance of success, Moore said.

New Garden Township decided to join as well, Moore said. So with a variety of trail and sidewalk improvements packaged together, the three municipalities have applied to receive $2.6 million in grant funds. If they got the grant, they would be required to put up their own funds equalling 36 percent of the total project costs, which are $4,085,000.

Some of the proposed trail projects the grant would fund include a trail that would connect 150 New Garden homes to the Parrish Trail, streetscaping and other improvements in the borough, and a variety of Kennett Township projects. These would include

Some of the proposed trail projects the grant would fund include a trail that would connect 150 New Garden homes to the Parrish Trail, streetscaping and other improvements in the borough, and a variety of Kennett Township projects.

a trail from Pennock Park up South Street to connect to the borough, trail work in the Chandler Mill Bridge area, a trail from Penns Manor to the borough, a trail from Victory Brewing to Pennock Park, including a bridge over the railroad line, and trail work in the Marshall Mill area.

Moore said if the money received is less than they hope, the municipalities will discuss how to scale back their plans.

In other business, the supervisors agreed to allow the Giant supermarket on Route 1 to have Sunday morning deliveries. The supermarket management found that although they had agreed not to have such deliveries, it was necessary to keep their shelves stocked during a busy weekend. The supervisors agreed unanimously to allow one 7 a.m. delivery on Sundays, and thanked Store Manager David Evans for meeting with area residents to assure them the deliveries would be as quiet and disturbance-free as possible.

Giant now heads to East Marlborough Township, which specified no Sunday deliveries in its conditionaluse order permitting the supermarket to open. The supermarket property lies in both townships.