Pottstown seeks grants to replace pedestrian bridge in Memorial Park

POTTSTOWN » Borough officials are looking to two grants to pay the cost of replacing the Memorial Park pedestrian bridge over Manatawny Creek.

The bridge, itself a replacement from an earlier storm, was knocked off its foundations during the flash flood in July 2019.

The flooding in the park was so sudden, violent and localized that the borough has struggled to obtain emergency funds from the state because the damage threshold, confined as it was, did not trigger emergency funding.

So now the borough is hoping a $200,000 grant from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will get the ball rolling.

Borough Manager Justin Keller explained to council during last week’s meeting the second $200,000 grant, this one from Montgomery County’s 2040 funding stream that also calls for streambank restoration, will hopefully serve as a matching grant.

If the grants are secured, work could likely not begin much before fall, said Keller.

The bridge serves as the link between the main body of the park and “the island” where picnic pavilions, a new playground and the Fountain of Youth splash park and is heavily used, particularly during major events in the park such as the GoFourth! Celebration on July 4.

However, the need for the bridge has been diminished by the cancellation of most large events in the park in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

New Park Rules

When folks do start to return to Memorial Park in greater numbers, they will find some new rules in place.

In addition to a vote to apply for both bridge grants, council also adopted a new set of park rules.

The changes include a ban on all tobacco “and vapor producing products” within 25 feet of all playgrounds and sports courts in all borough parks.

The new rules also ban the “deliberate launch of decorative balloons or airborne sky lanterns” from parks.

Additionally, new rules will empower police to cite large groups that use the parks without obtaining the necessary permit or paying the fee associated with the permit.

EVAN BRANDT — MEDIANEWS GROUP Entire trees, roots and all, that were swept down Manatawny Creek in in the July 2019flood slammed into the pedestrian bridge in Memorial Park and were held there by the force of the water, acting as a drag that added force to the water’s pressure on the bridge.