Cresheim Trail study released. Now what?
Springfield Township commissioners are puzzling over just what to do with the draft of the Cresheim Trail feasibility study, which appeared on the Internet this week.
The 124-page study, dated Jan. 10 and issued by Campbell Thomas & Co., a Philadelphia architectural firm, may be found at Cheltenham Township's Web site, www.cheltenhamtownship.org.
Campbell Thomas will accept comments on the draft through Feb. 29 and incorporate them into its final draft, Robert Thomas, a principal of the firm, said Tuesday.
Township commissioners planned to discuss the draft at their work session Feb. 11 and announce its publication at their Feb. 13 business meeting, but any further action seemed to be a matter for speculation.
Board President Jeff Harbison said Monday he will recommend referring the report to the township parks and recreation department for review, as Cheltenham Township has done.
Commissioner Doug Heller said Tuesday he was uncertain of what steps the township could take regarding the report, which, he emphasized, is the work of a private group, The Friends of Cresheim Trail.
"My impression is that I like the feasibility study," Heller said. "I think it's a very good starting point. I think it needs public input. This is a private group making a recommendation for how a trail could be built. This is not a government study.
"I have not asked for it on the agenda, but perhaps I will. Frankly, I'm in no rush to move this thing through. My expectation is before the commissioners do any voting on it, we allow public comment to the commissioners."
The proposed Cresheim Trail will link Springfield, Cheltenham and Whitemarsh townships to Fairmount Park in Philadelphia and, at its other end, to Fort Washington State Park.
In Springfield, it will pass through the Peco right of way beside Ivy Hill Road, pass through Laverock along Willow Grove Avenue and follow Route 309. It will then skirt the Flourtown Country Club and lead through the abandoned railroad bed behind Penn Oak Road before crossing Bethlehem Pike near the Acme shopping center.
From the start, the idea has drawn opposition from neighbors of the proposed route, who fear a trail will end their privacy, attract teenage drinking parties, and provide an entry and escape route for vandals and criminals.
The new sound barriers along Route 309 have become a magnet for graffiti, and a trail could attract more, Mary Harkins, a resident of the 1700 block of East Willow Grove Avenue, said Monday.
"Someone in this area is interested in seeing graffiti," she said.
The proposed trail will pass a pond on her property and come within a few feet of her home, Harkins said.
The study, which she has scanned, does not address issues regarding the safety of trail users who will have to cross Willow Grove, nor does it deal with residents' potential liability, Harkins said.
She also complained that although the report is dated Jan. 10, she learned about it only recently, and only because a friend informed her via e-mail.
Heller agreed the township could do more to keep the public informed about the trail. He has asked Campbell Thomas for permission to post the draft report on his own Web site, hellerspringfield.com.
Despite its title, the draft does not determine whether the trail is feasible, and it makes no recommendations, Thomas said.
Rather, it discusses conditions along the proposed route, design and possible uses of the trail, probable costs, and acquisitions of property easements. Final determination of feasibility will be made after the public has commented on the draft report, Thomas said.
Residents may e-mail their comments directly to Thomas at rthomas@campbellthomas.com. The words "Cresheim Trail Plan Comments" should appear in the e-mail's subject line.
As for graffiti, Thomas said trails have a record of preventing rather than encouraging vandalism. Before the building of the Radnor Trail, which his firm designed, the vacant, unused route was a dumping ground for trash, and graffiti covered lampposts and bridge overpasses, he said.
Now that Radnor Township maintains the trail as a park, trash and graffiti have disappeared, according to Thomas.
"Putting a trail in cleans the whole thing up," he said.