County Discusses Feasibility of Trail Along Neshaminy Creek

The Middletown Township meeting hall at 3 Municipal Way in Langhorne hosted a representative from the county Tuesday evening in regards to a feasibility study on the land surrounding the Neshaminy Creek. The study is in an effort to educate the county and the community on the ability to install a trail along the lower end of the creek.

The trail, hypothetically, would extend along the Lower Neshaminy Creek from Core Creek Park to the Neshaminy Falls train station. The county, in an attempt to determine the best placing for the trail, spoke to residents, allowing them to become part of the study and the conversation at Tuesday night’s meeting.

The project would be financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program and the Keystone Recreation Park and Conservation Fund, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau.

The county has looked at ways in which the trail may become an alternative way of commuting and recreation to residents, allowing them to safely travel to shopping centers, schools, public transportation and recreational spots across Lower Southampton, Langhorne Manor, Middletown Township and Northampton.

The trail, if built, would become a small segment of a 750 mile regional network of trails throughout the Greater Philadelphia area.

According to a county representative, a trail system of this style was first recommended by the Bucks County Parks Board back in 1955; however serious work into the idea began in 2010. In 2010, a survey was made available on the counties website, and shared among municipalities at their discretion. The survey, which consisted of a series of a dozen or so questions, asked local residents about their interests in the scope of ‘greenspace’.

Of the 700 residents that took part in the survey, 280 stated they were interested in more local trails and paths.

“Are you serious?” one woman remarked loudly throughout the meeting hall. “This is all because of 280 people? You are wasting time and tax payer’s money on this! We are dealing with the public here, who will think they all are entitled to use the trail however they want.”

Some residents’ spoke of their worry with decreasing property values and increased crime and noise, shall the trail be built along their backyard.

“If you go up by the high school, there are already trails over there being used for ATV’s, or by hikers and bikers, they are already using those trails the way they want.”

Residents referred to teens drinking and smoking by the creek, and a lack of access by a law enforcement, being a major issue they battle now.

A young resident, who called himself an avid bike rider, rejoiced in the possible construction of a trail. “I am a tax payer and a biker, and right now there is no where for me to ride my bike,” he said. “Right now we are hearing the tyranny of the few, if anything, a trail being used by people like me will bring more attention to the area and may stop some of these behaviors that are already unacceptable.”

The next step for the county is doing fieldwork and analyzing the land on a personal level to determine the proper placement for a trail.

The county representative said that if the trail is built along a more residential end of the creek, any resident does have the ability to halt the build, and the county has no interest in going above homeowners decisions. “The point is that through this fieldwork, we have the opportunity to improve the creek whether the trail is built or not,” he said.

In the end, the grant money may be used instead for bike paths or sidewalks in other areas of the county, if agreement cannot be made for a space along the creek.

After Tuesday’s presentation, residents were asked to approach various tables where they voted on their current outdoor activities, their preference for material that would be used to build a trail, and their major concerns if a trail was built.