Schuylkill River Greenways outlines Front Street trail engineering, riverfront fixes and gateway bridge plans
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Summary
Schuylkill River Greenways presented plans and funding strategy for a Front Street trail connection, a Riverview feasibility study and a proposed gateway bicycle/pedestrian bridge. The group asked the city to be the applicant for construction grants and sought coordination on access agreements and parking impacts.
Schuylkill River Greenways briefed the Reading Planning Commission on Jan. 21 about three near‑term riverfront projects: a Front Street trail connection, a Riverview trail feasibility project and a proposed ‘Reading Gateway’ bridge across the river.
Kent (Schuylkill River Greenways) described the organization’s priorities and said increased trail connections will likely bring more regional users once the 422 connector project is completed. “We do expect an influx of traffic once that connector project is done,” Kent said, adding the group is focusing on the quarter‑mile Front Street section to link the existing River Road bikeway and the downtown riverfront park.
The nut graf: SRG asked the city to lead construction grant applications for a quarter‑mile Front Street segment so SRG can provide engineering and grant writing support; the group said it hopes to pursue construction funding in 2026 or early 2027 and applied to the National Endowment for the Arts for an arts‑integration planning grant for the bridge.
SRG reported the Front Street project is at the engineering access stage and that the organization is working with Reading Area Community College (BRAC) and the city on right‑of‑way and access agreements. SRG said it hopes to have preliminary engineering and a cost estimate ready to support a DCNR grant application early in the spring grant cycle.
On the riverview segment, SRG told the commission engineers found sections of trail are close to active riverbank erosion and that some curves produce poor sight lines; the feasibility work will recommend options to widen or realign the path and to improve safety where cyclists and pedestrians currently have limited visibility.
SRG also described a proposed gateway bridge across the Schuylkill at the county rail bridge. The group said it filed a $50,000 application with the National Endowment for the Arts to fund a collaborative design and community‑engagement planning process to add public art and wayfinding elements to the crossing.
Commissioners and staff discussed parking tradeoffs on Front Street and the potential to use Reading Parking Authority lots to offset loss of on‑street spaces; BRAC staff on the call said recent lot expansions would reduce perceived parking impacts. SRG requested the city serve as lead applicant for construction grants because most state grant programs prioritize municipal applicants.
Ending: SRG said it will continue engineering and public outreach and asked planning staff and council liaisons to coordinate meetings with Norfolk Southern and the Reading Parking Authority on access and easement issues.
