CURWENSVILLE – The reveal for PA Wilds Greenways Partnership took place physically at the Curwensville High School and online Tuesday night. Rich Levine of DuBois presented to those who made the trip and watched from home the idea of bringing many communities together to develop greenways and to increase the odds of financial support by pooling resources. The online broadcast was provided by Sam Ettaro of Curwensville.
The presentation was mainly concerned with bicycles as transportation, but Levine defined greenways as being waterways, bicycle trails and other non-vehicular style pathways.
“The point is Pennsylvania aspires to be number one in greenways development,” said Levine.
To this end, Levine said that PennDOT has even been mandated towards the direction of making bicycles as transportation more feasible.
The PA Wilds Greenways plan comes down to linking the various municipalities through a hub and spoke system where tourists can come in and ride their bicycles. Some suggested and planned greenways are: Pa Wilds Greenway Hub, The DuBois Greenway, the Sandy Greenway, the Elk County Greenway, the Allegheny National Forest Greenway and the Anderson Creek Greenway.
Trailheads, which would vary in size, could be located in Benezette, Bigler’s Rocks, Troutville, Rockton, Brockway, Curwensville, DuBois, Home Camp and Ridgeway to name a few.
Trailheads would include basic comforts, information centers for local places to shop, maps, parking, vending machines, etc. Muncipalities along the greenways could redesign themselves to be trail towns.
“The way to go is to work it as a regional transit system,” said Levine.
Some of the proposed greenways were already bordering completion due to action by the local communities.
Levine pitched the idea in Curwensville due to the ease of getting it started there. Between Rails to Trails and nearby paths, he explained that after contacting PennDOT Curwensville could begin with some volunteers, yellow paint and some signs.
For the plan to succeed, though, it would need the support of several communities working together to create longer trails. The longer the trails the more appeal they have to those who are into bicycle riding. Other uses for the trail ways could include as hauling goods within the community, taxis and general transportation as opposed to automobiles.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The program is not affiliated with the Pennsylvania Wilds initiative or the North Central PA Greenways plan.
