New D&L Trail Section Opens

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 20, 2016

Contact: Josh Raulerson, Director of Communications

Phone: 412-481-9400

Email: [email protected]

 

NEW D&L TRAIL SECTION OPENS

Safer Access to Circuit Trails in Bristol Township

 

Bristol, PA – On Friday, December 16, 2016, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC) joined with its partners in the Greater Philadelphia Circuit Trails initiative to celebrate the opening of a new trail section in Bucks County.

Trail users can now use a pedestrian crossing to get across Green Lane, 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 Pennsylvania 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 National and State Heritage Area, 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.

 

About the Pennsylvania Environmental Council

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council is a statewide organization that brings people, government, and business together to find real world solutions for environmental challenges. These solutions bring about sustainable communities, protect our water resources, and address energy and climate issues. PEC was founded in 1970 and serves the entire state through offices in Luzerne, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.

For more information, visit www.pecpa.org.

 

About the Circuit Trails

Greater Philadelphia is the proud home of the Circuit Trails, a vast regional trail network of hundreds of miles of multi-use trails that is growing in size each year. One of America’s largest trail networks, the Circuit currently includes more than 300 miles of completed multi-use trails with a vision of more than 750 miles of interconnected trails across the nine-county region in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Nearly 65 nonprofit organizations, foundations and agencies are working together as part of the Circuit Trails Coalition to advance the completion of the trail network. A premiere regional amenity, the Circuit Trails connect our people to our local communities, providing endless opportunities for recreation and commuting. So whether you bike it, walk it, run it or paddle alongside it, the point is — just enjoy it.

Learn more at www.circuittrails.org and connect with the Circuit Trails on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to find out what is happening #onthecircuit.

 

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