Politics & Government

Township Council Receives Update on Rail Trail

Lower Saucon officials are still hopeful that the Saucon Rail Trail will open this spring.

The hope is still that the Saucon Rail Trail will open this spring as planned, but a number of issues related to its use remain to be worked out, Lower Saucon Township Manager Jack Cahalan told township council members Feb. 2.

Cahalan, who delivered an update on the trail's development, said one of the remaining obstacles is the fact that the advisory committee charged with developing rules and regulations for the trail hasn't been officially formed. 

The reason is that the committee is without official representation from Upper Saucon Township, which is one of the four municipalities through which the trail traverses, he said.

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The other three municipalities--Hellertown, Coopersburg and Lower Saucon Township--all have representatives on the advisory committee, which has been meeting regularly, he said.

Council member Priscilla deLeon said she feared the trail's completion might be held up because of Upper Saucon Township's lack of cooperation, but Cahalan said the trail's opening is not likely to be delayed as a result of that.

Find out what's happening in Hellertown-Lower Sauconwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We don't intend on holding it up," he said. "If [the trail] does get opened up and we're not formed together" the likely impact for trail users will be that rules and regulations will be different on different parts of the trail, he added.

It will also be difficult to develop and distribute maps and signage for the trail without full cooperation, he said, but "we will move ahead as best we can."

"We will have rules [for the trail]," he emphasized. Referring to a draft copy of rules and regulations developed by the advisory committee, Cahalan said "if we don't have these rules, we will have our [Lower Saucon Township] park rules."

Another issue which still needs to be addressed is the matter of horses using the trail, Cahalan said.

"We really don't have a plan for the horses," he said, adding that allowing equestrian use will mean parking for horse trailers will be needed at points along the rail trail.

Cahalan also discussed a concern by a new member of the rail trail advisory committee, Gerry Holum, who he said lives near the trail and had expressed concern about recreational users of the trail coming onto his property.

"We're sensitive to his issues," Cahalan said. "We've heard issues like privacy and also concerns about trespassing. Those are things we're going to have to deal with on a case-by-case basis."

Although Holum had suggested posting "No Trespassing" signs along the border between the trail and private property lines, council member Ron Horiszny said he didn't believe doing so would be practical.

"I don't think we should get into that," he said.

 

 


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