On Monday, Dec. 18, The agenda for the Upper Gwynedd Board of Commissioners meeting includes a presentation on the Power Line Trail, which is planned to cross Upper Gwynedd Township from the 476 overpass at Morris Rd., pass through Parkside Place where it will overlap with the planned Liberty Bell Trail and ultimately connect with the 202 Parkway Trail at Welsh Road.
The meeting starts at 7 PM, at the Upper Gwynedd Township building located at Parkside Place on Sumneytown Pike. Everyone interested in local trails is encouraged to turn out for this meeting,
The presentation materials contain draft details on the Power Line Trail as well as the Liberty Bell Trail. Some these details include:
- Proposed Liberty Bell route south out of Parkside Place, which will use sharrows on North Wales Rd to connect with a sidewalk/Trail at the intersection with Morris Rd. This is a compromise to address opposition of residents in the southern part of the township who did not want the trail near their properties if it followed the rail line out of the township.
- Route for the Power Line Trail to follow Welsh Rd. east to connect with the 202 Parkway Trail.
The draft maps include one curious detail for the Liberty Bell Trail, between Sumneytown Pike and Wissihickon Ave. The route visualized in these materials shows the trail following tight to the Wissihickon Creek, with multiple creek crossings. Though this was one possible route discussed two years ago during community input sessions, it was generally discarded at that time, in favor of taking the trail up Dickerson Rd. It is unclear why this may be back in play, given the frequent flooding along the creek which might cause the trail to be unusable after heavy rains, and require constant repair due to flood damage.
Update from the December 18 meeting provided by the township and the consultant:
1. Power Line Trail – SEPTA is opposed to a trail crossing of the Lansdale Doylestown line at Dickerson Rd. Because of this other options are being looked at, including taking the trail down Wissahickon Ave to the North Wales train station and crossing the tracks there, though the route from there was not discussed.
2. Power Line Trail – North of Sumneytown Pike, they are seriously considering taking the trail up along the creek to Wissahickon Ave. When asked about this they explained this was more efficiently leverage the PECO property, vs. purchasing right of way access on Dickerson or Church Rd. The draft map does, though, call for two Bridgets over the creek in this area, to get in and out of the Dodsworth Preserve on the opposite side of the creek.