Neighboring communities to collaborate to make connecting trail
By Kyle Carrozza, Staff Writer, The Times
Chester County Commissioners Kathi Cozzone and Terence Farrell join the celebration for the grand opening of the Riverwalk Brandywine Creek Trail in 2012. Pending grant approvals, the trail could be extended into South Coatesville and Modena.
COATESVILLE – The City Council, in cooperation with South Coatesville City Council and Modena Borough Council, agreed to jointly apply for a grant to expand the Riverwalk Brandywine Creek Trail at its meeting Monday night.
The riverwalk, which currently runs along Route 82 from Glencrest Road to Lincoln Highway, will be extended to South Coatesville and then Modena. The city council hopes that an extension will help to beautify the city and provide an activity for residents.
“I think it sounds like a wonderful idea,” said Council Member Jeff Loprinzi in his first meeting back since taking personal leave.
In its entirety, the new trail will be called The Mill Trail. Officials hope that its construction will lead to other efforts to beautify the city and boost local businesses, such as having high school students create banners to be hung. The route will also connect the Coatesville and South Coatesville Farmers Markets, so those two organizations could coordinate schedules to draw more people. Council President David Collins thinks that the trail will be a valuable addition to the area.
“I think it’ll add a welcome venue. The current trend in society is to be more fit,” he said.
Council has been talking about expanding the riverwalk for a few years. They speculated that this grant could be the first step in a long term goal of branching all the way out to Hibernia Park.
In another effort to improve the city, City Manager Kirby Hudson recently entered an agreement with No Nonsense Neutering to help take care of the feral cat problem some parts of the city are facing.
With clinics in Reading, Allentown, and Quakertown, the organization will open its fourth facility on Harmony Street. The clinic will set traps around the city, neuter the adults, and give kittens to adoption services. They will also distribute devices that shock the cats and to keep them away from residents’ properties.
“Trust me, I’ve learned more about cats than I ever wanted to know,” Hudson joked about looking into various solutions.
Council also passed an item to waive fees for American Water Company to install new pipelines in various parts of the city. Council wants to coordinate the renovations with other companies, such as Comcast, so that roads do not have to be paved multiple times.
However, the new pipelines could cause inconvenience, as any residential pipelines that are too dilapidated to fit into the system will have to be replaced at the expense of the homeowner. Collins made it a point to ensure that citizens will be notified of this potential issue as the work draws nearer.
In the latest chapter of an ongoing story, Lincoln University issued a press release stating that its Coatesville branch has earned accreditation. Night classes could start at the Gordon Education Center as soon as August 15, and full day classes by September.
“One of my biggest dreams was to get a college to come to Coatesville,” said Hudson.
Television ads promoting the new campus should begin airing in the coming weeks.
