Saint Clair Borough Council OKs agreements to smooth path for Schuylkill River Trail

Ron Devlin, Republican & Herald, Pottsville, Pa.
·2 min read

SAINT CLAIR — Elected officials have approved several agreements that clear the pathway for the Schuylkill River Trail through town.

At Tuesday’s borough council meeting, the council gave the go-ahead for the placement of signs and sharrows along the route of the trail through Saint Clair. Sharrows are V-shaped symbols painted on streets to indicate a pathway for bicycles.

Schuylkill River Greenways, the Pottstown-based nonprofit that oversees the 120-mile trail between Philadelphia and Frackville, will bear the cost of maintaining the signs and sharrows.

Known as the Mill Creek section of the trail, its route through Saint Clair is Tunnel Road, Russell Street, Second Street (the main thoroughfare), Franklin Street and Mill Street to Coal Creek Commerce Center.

Initially, the cross-town route was Hancock Street. At the request of the borough, though, Schuylkill River Greenways agreed to change it to Franklin Street to avoid a narrow bridge.

At a public hearing in Saint Clair last month, Greenways Executive Director Elaine Paul Schaefer described the economic benefits associated with the trail.

Hikers and bicyclists eat in local restaurants, buy groceries and stay in hotels, she noted.

“The trail brings levels and levels of economic activity,” Schaefer said.

Schuylkill River Greenways recently received a $1.5 million federal grant to underwrite the 4.6-mile extension of the trail from Saint Clair to Frackville.

The grant is part of the federal Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program, which underwrites on- and off-road trails for hikers and bicyclists.

Julia Hurle, trails director, said that Greenways has applied to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the state Department of Community and Economic Development for the balance of the $2.4 million trail expansion project.

In other business, the council went on record as opposing the renewal of the construction and demolition waste permit for the Blythe Recycling and Demolition Site, or BRADS, landfill in neighboring Blythe Twp.

The borough will convey its opposition in letters to state Sen. David G. Argall, R-29, Rush Twp., and state Rep. Tim Twardzik, R-123, Butler Twp.

In addition, the council authorized its president to contact the state Department of Environmental Protection and request that trucks coming from the landfill be prohibited from using borough streets.

A public hearing on the renewal of the BRADS permit is scheduled from 6 to 9 p.m. May 29 in the Saint Clair Area Elementary/Middle School.

Also at the Tuesday meeting:

• The council voted to purchase six Glock 9 mm firearms, ammunition and holsters. The firearms would be sold to members of the borough police department for $200 each through a used buy-back program.

• Mayor Richard E. Tomko and several council members volunteered to serve on an organizational committee for the borough’s 175th anniversary next year.