Township Council Reviews Trailhead Sketch Plans

Although Lower Saucon Township does not yet officially own the land that will become an access point along the Saucon Rail Trail, township council members reviewed two sketch plans for development of at their Dec. 7 meeting.

The property, which is located near the intersection of Bingen Road and Reading Drive, will serve as Lower Saucon's single public trailhead after it is developed to include parking, handicapped-accessible restroom facilities and an information kiosk along the lines of one located in Hellertown's .

Township Planner Judy Stern-Goldstein, of Boucher & James, presented council members with two similar sketch plans for the irregularly shaped parcel, calling them "conservative" in their use of parking.

Sketch Plan A, as presented by Stern-Goldstein, included 15 spaces plus seven "reserved spaces" that could be developed if needed at some point in the future. The parking area, according to Sketch Plan A, would be accessed via two separate one-way driveways--one for ingress and one for egress.

Sketch Plan B differed from Plan A in the sense that it included "a little less impervious surface," Stern-Goldstein said.

The parking area would include 14 parking spaces and access to it would be provided via a single two-way driveway.

"We think that either one could work," Stern-Goldstein said. "Right now it becomes a matter of preference for the township."

Council vice president Tom Maxfield said he preferred Plan A because he feels one-way access points to parking are clearer for motorists.

However, councilwoman Sandra Yerger noted that motorists will often disobey signage that is meant to create one-way driveways.

Council members also discussed the merits of having "diagonalized" parking spaces in the lot, such as those found in the parking lot in front of the Wood Street branch of the United States Postal Service in Bethlehem.

"I'm always afraid that cars are going to back into me as I'm pulling in to drop my mail off," councilwoman Priscilla deLeon said.

She added that she would like to see two handicapped parking spots (as opposed to one) included in the sketch plan for the trailhead parking lot, since it will be the only trail access point in Lower Saucon Township.

Resident Stephanie Brown, who attended the meeting, said she was "not crazy about the one-way (driveways)" and that she believes the trailhead "is going to be very crowded, especially on nice days like we've had."

A motion made by deLeon to support Sketch Plan B and to have it include two handicapped parking spaces was subsequently approved 3-2, with Maxfield and councilman Ron Horiszny voting "no."

The Saucon Rail Trail, , has proved to be a popular recreational resource for local residents in its first year, attracting hundreds of walkers, joggers and bikers to current access points in Hellertown and .