On Friday, Earth Day, Chester County officials plan to cut the ribbon on a new section of trail running along the Schuylkill River.
The public is invited to the event, hosted by the Chester County Commissioners and Chester County Parks and Preservation staff, which begins at 2 p.m. at 500 Fricks Lock Road in Pottstown.
This is part of Chester County’s final phase of trail development – a $6 million, four-mile paved extension that takes the Schuylkill River Trail from Linfield Road at Parker Ford to the new Route 422 Bridge crossing of the Schuylkill River at the Montgomery County border, officials said. The four-mile extension will complete one of the priority “puzzle pieces”, helping fill a gap in the nearly 60 miles of trail connecting Reading to Philadelphia.
With the completion of this phase, the Chester County Section of the Schuylkill River Trail will parallel the Schuylkill River from the Route 422 Bridge at Pottstown, south to the Route 29 Bridge into Mont Clare, a distance of approximately 12 miles.
Chester County Commissioners Josh Maxwell and Michelle Kichline, along with state DCNR Deputy Secretary Mike Walsh, PennDOT District 6-0 Acting Executive Lou Belmonte, Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia Executive Director Sarah Clark Stuart, and East Coventry Township Supervisor Chair Ray Kolb are expected to comment.
According to the Schuylkill Greenways group, there are about 75 miles of the trail, which starts in Philadelphia and will run to Schuylkill County, completed.
Following the program and ribbon cutting, you can cycle or walk a portion of the trail south of Fricks Lock Village, or complete a guided tour of Fricks Lock Village hosted by the East Coventry Township Historical Commission.
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