Coal and Coke Trail begins journey
SCOTTDALE - The Coal and Coke Chapter of the Regional Trail Corporation is working to build a recreation trail along a railroad line between Scottdale and Mount Pleasant.
The chapter's president Rob Ferguson says the group, formed in 2000, originally wanted to create a recreation trail that would tie in with the Yough River Trail in Connellsville.
When they learned that the Regional Trail Corp. (RTC), a nonprofit organization within Westmoreland, Fayette, and Allegheny Counties, was already heading that way from Greensburg, they joined the RTC and formed its Coal and Coke Chapter.
The RTC's Five Star Chapter has constructed a trail from Lynch Field in Greensburg to Youngwood, with plans, soon to be realized, of extending that to Hunker and then to Scottdale.
The RTC also envisions a trail from Scottdale to Connellsville, but no plans for that project have begun.
The Coal and Coke Chapter wanted to include Mount Pleasant, which would have been bypassed by RTC's original route.
They developed a plan to build a trail next to the railroad line that runs from Mount Pleasant Road in East Huntingdon Township, goes under Route 119, crosses Tram Road, and follows to Willows Park in Mount Pleasant.
A future addition may be a "spur" that connects the trail with the West Overton Museums.
Unlike the path the rest of the RTC is following, a rail line already acquired through the Westmoreland County Industrial Development Corp., the Coal and Coke Chapter's plan would require buying property.
Bob Keeler who chairs the property acquisition committee says that property owners along the proposed trail are open to discussion and recognize that the trail would be beneficial to the community.
The time consuming process of surveys, assessments and meeting grant application requirements for land acquisition, caused a minor set back in the Coal and Coke project.
The Keystone State Grant only accepts applications in October of each year, a deadline the Coal and Coke Chapter could not meet in 2001.
With the surveys now complete and the project moving forward, Ferguson says the group plans to be prepared to apply for the Keystone State Grant in October 2002, with the possibility of construction on the trail beginning as early as the fall of 2003.
In the meantime, cyclists and walkers will be able to enjoy other new trails in the area.
The Five Star Chapter is extending its trail from Youngwood to Scottdale; the portion of the trail from Tarrs to Scottdale will be turned over to the Coal and Coke Chapter.
Ferguson says this trail is due to begin construction later this year.
Scottdale's Jacobs Creek Recreation Trail, a 0.733-mile trail that will follow the current maintenance road for the Jacobs Creek Flood Control Project behind Mount Pleasant Road beginning near the confluence of Jacobs Creek and Stauffer Run and ending near Paul Henderson's Auto, is expected to be completed this summer.
An additional "spur" will be constructed from the trail to link it with Kendi Park.
The Jacobs Creek Recreation Trail will be paved, so its uses will be expanded, including, for example, inline skating.
The Five Star Corporation will bring the trail from Tarrs to Scottdale to join with the Jacobs Creek Trail, and the Coal and Coke Chapter will pick up at Henderson's Auto and continue to Willows Park, making the Jacobs Creek Trail an important link.
As with the link in Scottdale, the RTC plans eventually to "connect all the dots," comments Ferguson.
Malcolm Sias of Westmoreland County Parks who serves as an RTC board member says Westmoreland County has found that aside from Twin Lakes and Keystone State Parks, the Five Star Trail and the Yough Trail were the most used recreational facilities by Westmoreland County residents.
Based on the findings, the county has made creating and maintaining trails a priority.
The RTC will not only extend the Five Star Trail to Scottdale, but has also planned the Sewickley Creek Trail from Youngwood to Westmoreland County Community College in Armbrust, a trail that one day may continue to Mammoth Park.
And the Coal and Coke Chapter's original idea of connecting Scottdale to the Yough River Trail in Connellsville may also be realized one day.
Coal and Coke Chapter board member and Laurel Highlands Chamber of Commerce president Ron Aldom says recreation trails have a proven impact, particularly at trail heads, boosting business in town.
He says, for example, Ohiopyle has grown to include bike shops, gift shops, restaurants and inns since the Yough River Trail was constructed.
"Bike trails bring a wide array of people with at wide array of tastes," comments Aldom.
The hospitality industry - bed and breakfasts, restaurants - are sure to flourish near a popular trail.
He says major companies may also be attracted to an area with a recreation trail, since better recreation facilities mean a better quality of life for its employees.
With other organizations planning to construct trails that link Pittsburgh with Washington, D.C., with the Yough River Trail as a part of the route, that creates the possibility for the Fay West area becoming a stop for many travelers.
Ferguson says, "People don't realize the impact it will have."
