Schuylkill River Trail nearer to completion

The 130-mile-long Schuylkill River Trail that, when finished, will link five counties from Philadelphia to Pottsville is coming together in fits and starts.

A popular 26-mile segment runs between Philadelphia and Phoenixville. An additional 19 miles have been opened between Pottstown and Reading.

But a couple of huge gaps remain: a 20-mile stretch between Reading and Hamburg in Berks County, and a 14-mile segment in Chester County.

Last week, the Chester County commissioners took a step toward closing that 14-mile gap when they announced they were buying the historic Henry Parker house and 5.5 acres along the proposed trail route in East Vincent Township's Parkerford Historical District.

More than four of the 5.5 acres are along the river, and so the purchase will significantly boost public access to the waterway, said John Mikowychok, director of the county's parks and recreation department.

"We have a 1982 easement with Peco Energy from Township Line Road in Cromby up to Fricks Lock" in East Coventry Township, he said. "From Fricks Lock north is where we are negotiating with landowners."

Those negotiations are being spearheaded by Natural Lands Trust of Media under a contract with the county, he said.

Three years ago, the county, along with Montgomery County, awarded a $1.4 million design contract to Wilson Consulting Group of Mechanicsburg. At that time, officials predicted construction would start in 2006, with the trail opening set for 2010.

But delays in federal funding, which is paying for 80 percent of the trail costs, have held up Wilson's work, Mikowychok said. Now, he said, he hopes to have design and engineering wrapped up sometime next year.

Chester County, Montgomery County and Philadelphia are each responsible for constructing their sections of the trail, said Kurt Zwikl, executive director of the Schuylkill River Heritage Area. His organization is helping to build the trail in Berks and Schuylkill Counties.

Earlier this year, the organization was awarded a $735,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation to coordinate trail maintenance and management, and to tie the disparate elements of the trail together with signs.

"Our goal is to sign it uniformly, and find access points and trailheads," he said. Kiosks with maps and other information have gone up along the trail at key points, such as the Pottstown Riverfront Park, and at the trail's intersection with the Perkiomen Trail near Audubon, he said.

The property that Chester County is buying is at the halfway point of its stretch of the trail. Mikowychok declined to reveal the cost of the property until the purchase becomes final. Officials said the Parker home would become a ranger station with office facilities and public restrooms.

"That's important when you have a regional trail with thousands of visitors a day," Mikowychok said. "It's nice to have comfort stations along the way."