This past weekend, Bonnie Cook from the Inquirer about the proposed trail. It was well written and clearly showed Lower Merion Township's Chris Leswing's love for the proposed project and his dedication to playing his part to try to create something beautiful. We will note however, that a guy from Villanova, as a private citizen has supported this project for years and over the years has presented to various regimes in the township his ideas for a trail ---we can't remember his name.... We hope that citizens like him will be part of the project as it hopefully moves along smoothly....unfortunately, the article reminds us the trail isn't a done deal....hopefully typical bureaucracy won't keep this tied up until we all reach our dotage....we all know how government can take their time....

Approval was given for a path along the river from West Conshohocken to the City Avenue Bridge.
By Bonnie L. Cook
Inquirer Staff Writer

On a clear day, Christopher Leswing can stand on a rock jutting from the Schuylkill in Gladwyne and see all the way downstream to Manayunk.
What the Lower Merion Township planner would really like, though, is to hike there. Chances are, he will.

After five years of study, Lower Merion's Board of Commissioners voted Aug. 1 to build a trail along the township border at the river's western edge. It will extend from West Conshohocken to the City Avenue Bridge.

The Schuylkill River Trail will link at its upper end with Montgomery County's trails network, and at its lower end to the hiking and bike paths in Fairmount Park.

A decade from now, if Lower Merion can acquire the rights to the needed land, a hiker, biker or Rollerblader might set out from Valley Forge at dawn and reach Manayunk in time for an afternoon ice cream break.

"You're in the forest. It's a beautiful, vital part of the region," Leswing said. "The real wow is the river. You feel like you're in Upstate New York or out West."

Leswing, 42, who is overseeing the trail project, believes the path will function like "an emerald necklace," linking parks and bridle trails within Lower Merion. That's attractive to young families who want to settle there.

"It's silly for our residents to have to drive to the city to connect with recreational amenities," Leswing said.