COUNTY EYES PLAN TO REVITALIZE TRAIL JUNCTION
Renovation targeted for 2023, says county official
NORRISTOWN » Montgomery County officials shared their plans to give Norristown’s trail junction center some special attention.
Representatives from the county’s planning commission and consultants addressed members of the Norristown Municipal Council during a work session on Tuesday to ask the municipality’s elected officials a question.
“What do you want to see in the building and how do you want it to work?” asked Douglas Seiler, of Seiler + Drury Architecture, referencing the space located at the intersection of DeKalb and Lafayette streets.
The former freight station was purchased by the county in 2007, according to Bill Hartman, the Montgomery County Planning Commission’s section chief for trails and open space. An environmental assessment was completed that same year.
When noting previous undertakings related to the building’s development, Hartman said that feasibility were conducted in 2004 and 2009.
In addition, a $100,000 grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Regional Trails Program was awarded in 2017.
Relaying a projected timeline, Hartman added that he’d like to have the architectural engineering work finished by end of the year, with the renovation ending in 2023.
Seiler stressed the importance on obtaining feedback from area residents, municipal officials and trailgoers alike as they strive to “work out what building is going to look like.”
Seiler outlined several goals associated with the project including restoring the historic building, implanting sustainability into the design, creating a destination, providing services to support the trail, and implementing gateway for trail users to the town and surrounding trails.
“The vision for the Trail Junction Center is to create a place, with an evolving program, to be both a destination and a gateway to introduce trail users to the county seat and Norristown residents to the trail, serving as a contributing asset to the Municipality and trail users,” Seiler said in his presentation.
Posing a survey to community members about possible plans for the facility’s, respondents said they’d like to see bathrooms, a drinking fountain, as well as a place for respite.
There was also some discussion amongst council members and presenters about potential security concerns associated with bathrooms open continuously on the premises.
A cafe was also another option, to which Norristown Municipal Council President Thomas Lepera instead suggested a “fit out restaurant local businesses can use.”
“We realize the importance of the governance and management of this building,” Hartman said. “We can’t just design it, build it and then walk away. We understand that people need to take care of it and it needs to be actively managed.”
Seiler and Hartman suggested the possibility of bringing on a part time employee to take charge of the trail junction.
“My initial thinking is it’d be ideal to have someone who worked there perhaps in a part time basis who really took ownership of it and really cared for it and got to know the people who visited it and created a place that was welcoming, but I think without that I think two things will happen: not many people are going to visit and it’s not going to be a safe environment,” Hartman said. “That governance and stewardship is really important.
It’s an initiative that Norristown Municipal Councilwoman Rebecca Smith said she’s looking forward too, and that it’s important for the municipality.
“I just want to say that I appreciate this presentation and proposal very much,” she said. “I know there’s a lot of other beautiful well maintained trail heads that are operated by the county throughout the county, and I’m appreciative that we’re finally getting a beautiful restored trailhead here. I don’t want to speak for anybody, but I do think it’s kind of probably overdue and so grateful that it’s happening now.”