How often do we hear of the importance of “quality of life” in determining whether new businesses move to our region or existing companies expand operations? In the past, issues such as our work ethic, low crime rate, or affordable housing have been major factors in defining this quality.
 While these are still important, there’s a new selling point on the list and Northeastern Pennsylvania is on its way to a high score.
The importance of outdoor activities, especially hiking, running, and biking trails, is cropping up in marketing studies and research around the country. It was one of the criteria used by CNNMoney.com to determine the “Top 100 Small Cities and Towns to Live” in the United States for 2010. The top five places in America boasted of plenty of outer beauty, with green space and miles of trails. The top city, Eden Prairie, Minnesota, offers 125 miles of running, hiking, and biking trails.
Carol Hussa, program manager for Steps to a Healthier PA Luzerne County and member of the Wilkes-Barre YMCA Action Communities Health, Innovation & Environmental Change, is a proponent of developing more trails and greenways around the Wyoming Valley. She feels that the value these open spaces add to a community can be measured not only in economic growth, but also in terms of the environment and health.
Hussa is part of a small group of area residents that looked at a map about 20 years ago and had a dream of seeing the area crisscrossed with trails. In late April of this year, the group saw that dream take its first major step toward fruition with the unveiling of two proposals that will, at their completion, tie the area’s many existing and planned trails and bike paths together, allowing hikers and bikers to traverse the Valley and move on throughout the state. The Greater Kingston Area and Wilkes-Barre Feasibility/Master Plans also give the Wyoming Valley an edge in what’s become one of the key issues used in deciding the best place to live and work.
“They (the trails and greenways) are the scenic sanctuaries from our hectic lives that nourish us with nature,” she said.
Wherever communities build trails and pay attention to greenways, Hussa explained, there is evidence that the open spaces benefit the economy, environment, and health of a region. According to Jennifer C. Panning, author of Mental Health Benefits of Exercise, published in the FindCounseling.com Find Mental Health Journal, November 2000, in addition to the physical advantages of exercise, numerous studies have shown that regular exercise can help lower anxiety, stress, and tension while also increasing confidence and energy levels.
Hussa added that studies have proven that, by improving access to the outdoors, the health of an area is improved. Trails and greenways also create inviting gateways to our communities and serve as sprawl stoppers, providing protective buffers from overdevelopment. Trails and greenways can also create and expand business opportunities and increase property values, sales tax revenues, and tourism dollars.
Economic Impact
Hussa pointed to Western Pennsylvania and the Great Allegheny Passage, a trail that stretches from Cumberland, Maryland, to Pittsburgh. According to the Trail Town Program of the Allegheny Trail Alliance, which measured the economic impact of the Passage in 2008, trail spending attributed to $40 million in direct spending and $7.5 million in wages.
Closer to home, dollar figures have yet to be published for the River Common, in Wilkes-Barre, but 160,000 people visited the park in 2010, according to Karl Borton, director of River Common Programming and Outreach.
Pocono Forrest and Waters Initiative Vice President Ellen Ferretti, who is also northeast regional director of Conservation and Landscapes for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council (PEC), said that the proof of this connection is spelled out in the Great Valley Technology Alliance Study undertaken by economic development agencies in Luzerne County in 2000. The Study emphasized that there is a link between the ability to attract and retain businesses and the availability of outdoor recreation in our area. Ferretti wants people to know that her organization stands ready to help other groups interested in developing trails in the region.
Ferretti also agrees the trails will spur economic activity along their miles.
“The trails are safe and (as proposed) take you right through into the community where you can take a break for coffee,” she said. “We’re seeing small businesses such as coffee shops, as well as businesses that serve the needs of those using the trails such as bike shops, being developed along the trails. Outdoor recreation is one of the top draws to the area, according to the Luzerne County Convention Bureau.”
Feasibility and Planning
The Greater Kingston Area and Wilkes-Barre Feasibility/Master Plans were presented to residents and business owners on April 18. The proposed trails not only connect gaps in existing and planned trails, but will also provide access from other spots in the community.
“We’re trying to connect the dots from the trails to the schools, colleges, parks, and playgrounds,” explained George White, of White Environmental Services, Kemp, PA, and designing engineer for the two plans.
According to White, the Greater Kingston Area Feasibility/Master Plan was the first to be undertaken. It covers about 15 square miles along the western shore of the Susquehanna River and the eight boroughs of Courtdale, Edwardsville, Forty Fort, Kingston, Larksville, Luzerne, Pringle, and Swoyersville.
Two major trails are proposed: the Kingston Area Trail, which will run from Route 11 in Larksville to Sharpe Street, Kingston, and the Back Mountain Trail Extension, which will begin at Buckingham Street, Luzerne, and connect to the Luzerne County Levee Trail behind the Kingston Recreation Center. The trail will connect the Back Mountain Trail to the Luzerne County Levee Trail. The Back Mountain Trail will eventually extend through the Back Mountain area, Misericordia University, past Harvey’s Lake, and beyond to Rickett’s State Park, in Sweet Valley.
Other smaller connecting trails are proposed under the Plan that will connect the Back Mountain Trail and the Luzerne County Levee Trail System, as well as the Susquehanna Warrior Trail and the West Side Trail.
The Wilkes-Barre Feasibility/Master Plan proposes approximately 11 miles of trails that will bridge the gaps in nine current trails, including the Luzerne County National Recreation Trail, the Susquehanna River Levee Trail, the West Side Trail, and the D&L Black Diamond Trail that is part of the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Trail.
The trails on both sides of the Susquehanna will connect to several major hubs around the Valley, including what Ferretti calls the “crown jewel” of the systems, the River Common, and a planned welcome center at the former Market Street train station. Many of the trails will follow abandoned rail beds that were discovered throughout the region during the planning phase.
“The coal companies didn’t play well together,” White explained. “They each built their own rail line. When one company went out of business, their line was abandoned. They make excellent lines for the trails.”
The trails will also use existing sidewalks, road crossings, and underpasses, and will piggyback with low-use, low-speed, active rail lines.
Cost to Construct
The cost of constructing the proposed trail will be a major hurdle for the completion of the plans. The estimated total costs come to a little more than $6.7 million. The plans outline a number of possible funding sources in the state and federal government, as well as private funding groups. The availability of funds will depend on the economy. Julie McMonagle, executive director of the Anthracite Scenic Trails Association, pointed out that as budgets have been squeezed during our current recession, funds for projects of this type are getting harder to find.
“When budgets are tight, recreation funding is one of the first items to go,” she said. “It can cost $100,000 per square mile just for a gravel trail.”
This doesn’t include cost for such items as structures, signage, or other expenses related to creating new trails.
“Funds to staff, operate, and maintain the trails once completed may be even harder to come by,” McMonagle said. “According to 2005 documentation from the Rails to Trails Conservancy, average annual maintenance costs, excluding resurfacing trails, range from $6,559 per mile to $9,172 for government-run trails. The Feasibility/Master Plan estimates the cost for maintenance, management and staffing, with a contingency for inflation, at just over $8,150 a mile. There are federal funds available for these costs, but they are not as abundant as planning and construction money.”
The funding barriers aren’t buffering the enthusiasm of the trail proponents, however. “You have a great opportunity to do some wonderful things for this area with trails. This could become a real destination for hikers and bikers!,” White explained. “Now it’s time to start building.”
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