Charlestown Township's Open Spaces board will be meeting at 7 at the Great Valley Middle School to review the results of the Open Spaces/Trails survey sent out late last year. This will be a very important part of the Candy Line proposal, as buy-in from residents of Charlestown Township is a critical part of the overall project.
I will update this post with a summary of the outcome of this meeting.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Friday, March 9, 2012
New York's High Line - an Inspiration
New York's High Line Rails to Trails project shows what can be accomplished by a dedicated group. Once an elevated freight line hauling good to and from the West-side meat markets, it stopped service in 1980. Between 2001 and 2010, an active push was made to turn the line into an urban greenway, with great success.
The Candy Line does cross through Phoenixville a Borough roughly designated by its population density and its size (smaller than a city), much of the proposed Candy Line runs through rural area of Charlestown township. The line is not elevated, though there are bridges, including a longer bridge crossing rt 29 and the Pickering near Buckwalter Road. There are as many similarities as differences. In either case, an inspiration without question!
A comprehensive image gallery can been seen here: http://www.thehighline.org/galleries/images/high-line-park-photos with more information found at the main page, http://www.thehighline.org
The Candy Line does cross through Phoenixville a Borough roughly designated by its population density and its size (smaller than a city), much of the proposed Candy Line runs through rural area of Charlestown township. The line is not elevated, though there are bridges, including a longer bridge crossing rt 29 and the Pickering near Buckwalter Road. There are as many similarities as differences. In either case, an inspiration without question!
A comprehensive image gallery can been seen here: http://www.thehighline.org/galleries/images/high-line-park-photos with more information found at the main page, http://www.thehighline.org
BPG and Development on the Phoenix Iron Site
BPG is a development company currently submitting plans to Phoenixville Borough for development of an apartment complex on Parcel Q of the Phoenix Iron site - the northeast corner of the site adjacent to the Devault Train line where the line crosses the Schuylkill river from Montgomery County. PITCA met with them Wednesday March 7th to discuss the Phoenix Green, a portion of the old master plan for the Phoenix Iron site which kept the area at the base of the bluffs open green space.
http://www.bpgdevelopment.com
Also discussed was BPG's concepts for rainwater control and possible coordination with PICTA and Chester County regarding the Iron Canal as a rainwater catchment basin (further investigation into costs and regulatory issues will determine the feasibility of this option). BPG was fully in support of providing a trail link from the parcel to the Iron Canal trail under the train bridge on the eastern most corner, a long-standing goal of PICTA's.
While not critical for the Candy Line, this open space would be right at the trailhead, and includes nearly a mile-long loop trail following the edge of the property. BPG has done an excellent job with their plan, and seemed open to considering options to keep the overall idea of the Green intact as was possible given the requirements for sufficient parking on the site. As everyone in the Borough knows, parking is a constant issue.
The meeting was quite positive, and PICTA is looking forward to continued discussions about how the development can best benefit the community - existing residents and new ones who move into the planned apartments!
http://www.bpgdevelopment.com
Also discussed was BPG's concepts for rainwater control and possible coordination with PICTA and Chester County regarding the Iron Canal as a rainwater catchment basin (further investigation into costs and regulatory issues will determine the feasibility of this option). BPG was fully in support of providing a trail link from the parcel to the Iron Canal trail under the train bridge on the eastern most corner, a long-standing goal of PICTA's.
While not critical for the Candy Line, this open space would be right at the trailhead, and includes nearly a mile-long loop trail following the edge of the property. BPG has done an excellent job with their plan, and seemed open to considering options to keep the overall idea of the Green intact as was possible given the requirements for sufficient parking on the site. As everyone in the Borough knows, parking is a constant issue.
The meeting was quite positive, and PICTA is looking forward to continued discussions about how the development can best benefit the community - existing residents and new ones who move into the planned apartments!
Friday, March 2, 2012
A New Map!
For use with handouts, I've made a new map using OpenStreetMap.org's excellent free service. The project is open source, and takes user data contributions via GPS trace. If you're familiar with GPS track creation, please consider contributing to the project.
In the meantime, here is the new map, with a few educational points of interest noted:
I'll be at Phoenixville's first Friday events tonight (March 2nd) from 5-7PM handing out flyers with this map.
In the meantime, here is the new map, with a few educational points of interest noted:
I'll be at Phoenixville's first Friday events tonight (March 2nd) from 5-7PM handing out flyers with this map.
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