The intersection of Main and Water streets in Hellertown
Is the Saucon Rail Trail hard to find? The answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how familiar with the area they are.
New signs that will be installed at four intersections along Hellertown’s Main Street corridor will help direct pedestrians who aren’t familiar with the trail to entrances and trailheads located a block or two to the west.
Hellertown Borough Council Monday approved installing the non-reflective signs at these Main Street intersections:
- Bachman Street (the trail’s northern terminus)
- Water Street
- Saucon Street
- Walnut Street
The signs will measure two feet by three feet and will be mounted on their own posts, borough engineer Bryan Smith said.
Since they aren’t motor vehicle signs, the borough doesn’t need to obtain a PennDOT permit to install them, he explained.
Funding for the signs is coming in the form of a $21,000 Liveable Landscape grant award.
The Saucon Rail Trail Oversight Commission–which is comprised of representatives from the borough, Lower Saucon Township, Upper Saucon Township and Coopersburg borough–will review the signs at their next meeting April 23 at 6 p.m. at the Upper Saucon Township Municipal Building, 5500 Camp Meeting Road, Center Valley.
The rail trail, which opened in 2011, occupies approximately five miles of former SEPTA train line that has been transformed into a popular walking, jogging and bike path.
Future plans call for it to link up with trails that either already exist or are under development in Upper Bucks County–to the south–and the City of Bethlehem to the north.
In spite of inclement weather, the Saucon Rail Trail in Hellertown wasn’t completely deserted on a snowy day in December 2017 (FILE PHOTO).
