We’re entering the home stretch of the Tookany Creek Trail feasibility study!
Over the past year or so, our team—consisting of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership (TTF), and Campbell Thomas & Co. (CTC)—has collected roughly 500 survey responses; dozens of key person interviews; and conducted 7 public, stakeholder, and focus group meetings. As noted in a previous post, the results and feedback have been overwhelmingly positive. Now, after touring and assessing the landscape to determine the best trail facility to meet the needs of the community, we are ready to share our insights and recommendations.
More than half of the interviews and public meetings mentioned above have been conducted virtually to accommodate safety procedures required by the COVID-19 lockdown, but that has not tempered the outpouring of support for the proposed Tookany Creek Trail. Since May, we have interviewed almost a dozen more stakeholders and key groups and individuals, and held another Study Advisory Committee meeting to collect feedback on our initial project recommendations. As of this writing, we are gearing up for two more public meetings:
- the Cheltenham Township Environmental Advisory Committee meeting on October 19th 7:30 PM; and
- the Cheltenham Township Public Affairs Committee meeting on November 10th at 7:45 PM.
We encourage anyone with an interest in expanding trail mileage and access in Cheltenham and the larger Circuit Trails system to attend these meetings. Feel free to reach out to [email protected] for more information.
In the meantime, we encourage everyone to Take a Walk Along the Tookany Creek Trail. In lieu of in-person site visits during this time of social distancing, we created an online tour of the proposed Tookany Creek Trail, with stops along the way highlighting its history, present challenges, and future opportunities. This Story Map incorporates feedback from several rounds of public outreach, as well as some initial recommendations for the Tookany Creek Trail.
The Story Map also asks viewers a few questions regarding some of the challenges presented and recommendations proposed – we encourage everyone to think about these questions and email their answers. We look forward to hearing back from you with reflections from your walk along the Tookany Creek Trail, and hope to see you (virtually) in October and/or November!