Planner outlines Greenway Trail Phase 2 route, easements and bank maintenance

Megan Patton of the consulting firm Freinfelder presented the borough's planned Greenway Trail Phase 2, which will extend from the Maple Street Bridge to Greenview and prioritize keeping the trail as close to the river as feasible. Patton said the project is supported by the borough's capital improvement program and other trail-design funding and that the initial work package focuses on bank-clearing and limiting disturbance to the river bank.

Patton described early design elements including a constrained seven-foot section near the Maple Street Bridge (within existing easements), expansion to standard eight-to-ten-foot widths where feasible, wood guardrails to separate trail users from vehicle areas, and planned landscaping. "Along the trail, we'll be clearing any limbs so that we have a 9 foot hike clearance to by splits and travelers," Patton said, describing sight-line and clearance work.

She said staff will investigate existing easements and propose additional easements along South Bay Street as needed, and noted potential public-art and lighting treatments under the Salem Street Bridge. Construction and maintenance sequencing will begin with bank stabilization and removal of invasive species to protect slope stability.

Budget and schedule: Patton said the project team is working with borough staff on construction cost updates and coordination with other downtown projects and said design review and construction-observation services will be tracked in the borough's capital process. Public review and a design milestone are planned as the project moves from concept to preliminary design.

Next steps: continued easement research, refined cost estimates with borough staff, and return design materials to the board for further direction.