If all works out well, walkers will have a longer trail to use along Deal Road.
The Township Council approved by resolution a request to seek funding from the state Department of Transportation to provide a pedestrian/bike trail extension from the point where an existing trail ends at the boundary of Joe Palaia Park along Deal Road to the intersection of Deal and Logan roads.
The extension would add a small section of about 1,000 feet to the existing 3-mile trail, said David Kochel, township administrator.
The township’s master plan identified the need for additional pedestrian and bicycle facilities along Deal Road that will join an existing trail system and provide safe travel from the Deal Road and Logan Road subdivision to the high school and elementary school.
The application requests $180,553 in funding from the state Department of Education’s Municipal Aid Program, Safe Streets to Schools Program for the Deal Road pedestrian/bike trail extension. According to Kochel, the township has already funded an additional $16,476 for land acquisition. Kochel said the extension is expensive because the trail has to cross wetlands.
In addition, the resolution states that the township will provide the necessary maintenance of the trail.
— Linda DeNicola