Featured image credit: Circuit Trails Coalition
On December 19, 2022, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee released the $1.7 trillion 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which designated government funding for dozens of programs. $7.27 million of the funding will go to the Circuit Trails, with an additional $5 million for developing parks adjacent to the trails.
“Since we first announced the circuit trails as about a 750-mile system, people want more trails,” said PEC Executive Vice President and Circuit Trails Coalition Vice Chair Patrick Starr. “I’d say that our appetite for trails also just keeps expanding.”
There are currently more than 370 miles of completed Circuit Trails. The Circuit Trails Coalition has a goal of building 500 miles of trails by 2025.
The following projects were awarded Community Project Funding through the Omnibus bill:
- Germantown Pike Crossing segment of the Cross County Trail in Montgomery County ($2.5 million)
- Battery segment of the Delaware River Trail in Philadelphia ($1 million)
- Veterans Park to Quakertown segment of the Upper Bucks Rail Trail in Bucks County ($1.77 million)
- Bartram’s to Passyunk Phase II segment of the Schuylkill River Trail in Philadelphia ($2 million)
The following parks were awarded Community Project Funding:
- Graffiti Pier, for park development that will include the Delaware River Trail in Philadelphia ($2 million)
- Sadler’s Poynt Park in Camden, for Park Development that will include the Delaware River Heritage Trail in Camden County ($1 million)
- Assunpink Greenway Recreation Corridor, a linear park project a east of the D&R Canal Trail in Mercer County ($2 million)
To learn more about how PEC and the Circuit Trails Coalition are working to develop trails in the Greater Philadelphia region, visit our Gap Analysis webpage. Our Gap Analysis Tool aims to demonstrate the real impact of particular projects, and direct funding and attention towards projects that increase justice, equity, and inclusion.