So there seems to be some uproar going on with regard to the proposed River Trail(s) through Gladwyne...it started at last week's meeting (we couldn't help but hear as it it dragged on as we waited for news on Ardmore), and a couple curious things happened, including lambasting an Inquirer article that had obviously been placed for maximum exposure - why we even covered that article at the time. And then there was the thing if this is a proposed or discussed trail? If we're talking about it, and if the apparent king of trail making Bob Thomas is doing studies and making presentations, then isn't it proposed?

But now there is a lot of back and forth. Mostly about it being or not being continuous. Does it have to be that way? Do people really want to go through the Noise Fume Pass? The strip that would run between the Schuylkill Expressway and live train tracks? Why not just take that part out? Radnor Township's trail isn't continous, and after years of fighting over that in that community, the trail is there and people seem to enjoy it....as a non continous trail.

Can we as a community please find a middle ground? We actually urge everyone to come together and find a middle ground, lest Lower Merion be torn apart at taxpayer expense over yet another issue. Find a middle ground, make an issue a non-issue.

It also seems to be a whole trail movement in Montgomery County. We didn't know until it started to affect our communities. While we believe trails as a general concept are good things, we think maybe Lower Merion needs to pause for thought? Seriously, read these things found simply by Googling:

Springfield Sun: Cresheim Trail study released. Now what?
By Joe Barron
02/07/2008

Springfield Township commissioners are puzzling over just what to do with the draft of the Cresheim Trail feasibility study, which appeared on the Internet this week.

The 124-page study, dated Jan. 10 and issued by Campbell Thomas & Co., a Philadelphia architectural firm, may be found at Cheltenham Township's Web site, www.cheltenhamtownship.org

Campbell Thomas will accept comments on the draft through Feb. 29 and incorporate them into its final draft, Robert Thomas, a principal of the firm, said Tuesday.
Township commissioners planned to discuss the draft at their work session Feb. 11 and announce its publication at their Feb. 13 business meeting, but any further action seemed to be a matter for speculation.....Commissioner Doug Heller said Tuesday he was uncertain of what steps the township could take regarding the report, which, he emphasized, is the work of a private group, The Friends of Cresheim Trail.

"My impression is that I like the feasibility study," Heller said. "I think it's a very good starting point. I think it needs public input. This is a private group making a recommendation for how a trail could be built. This is not a government study.

"I have not asked for it on the agenda, but perhaps I will. Frankly, I'm in no rush to move this thing through. My expectation is before the commissioners do any voting on it, we allow public comment to the commissioners."

The proposed Cresheim Trail will link Springfield, Cheltenham and Whitemarsh townships to Fairmount Park in Philadelphia and, at its other end, to Fort Washington State Park.

In Springfield, it will pass through the Peco right of way beside Ivy Hill Road, pass through Laverock along Willow Grove Avenue and follow Route 309. It will then skirt the Flourtown Country Club and lead through the abandoned railroad bed behind Penn Oak Road before crossing Bethlehem Pike near the Acme shopping center.

From the start, the idea has drawn opposition from neighbors of the proposed route, who fear a trail will end their privacy, attract teenage drinking parties, and provide an entry and escape route for vandals and criminals.

The new sound barriers along Route 309 have become a magnet for graffiti, and a trail could attract more, Mary Harkins, a resident of the 1700 block of East Willow Grove Avenue, said Monday.

"Someone in this area is interested in seeing graffiti," she said.

The proposed trail will pass a pond on her property and come within a few feet of her home, Harkins said.

The study, which she has scanned, does not address issues regarding the safety of trail users who will have to cross Willow Grove, nor does it deal with residents' potential liability...Residents may e-mail their comments directly to Thomas at

So how much money does Mr. Thomas make from municipalities each year? And ahhhh..."public comment"....is that like "public process"? Do we have true public processes in government any more? Sure hope so.

And who knew that eminent domain for public purpose could be exercised over trails?

No, we're not kidding - we let out keyboards do some Googling, and what we found is this:

IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Montgomery County :
:
v. :
: No. 1975 C.D. 2003
Gordon B. Heal, Jr. and Diane M. Heal, : No. 1976 C.D. 2003
Appellants : Submitted: February 6, 2004
BEFORE: HONORABLE BERNARD L. McGINLEY, Judge
HONORABLE MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, Judge
HONORABLE CHARLES P. MIRARCHI, JR., Senior Judge
OPINION BY JUDGE McGINLEY FILED: May 11, 2004

Well hey now....we would hope our Township wouldn't stoop to such measures, but if the county is the one who can do the taking, then do they have a say anyway?

So, we dug a little deeper, and when it comes to trails (because quite frankly who can stand the thought of another potentially explosive issue dividing our community?), here's so very good food for thought:

Property Rights Foundation of America, Inc.
Perkiomen Trail Poses a Threat to Private Property Owners
The Mercury
Pottstown, Pennsylvania
June 10, 2001
by Carol W. LaGrasse
President
Property Rights Foundation of America, Inc

The Perkiomen Trail poses a threat to private property owners in two important respects:
(1) The construction of the trail route itself, including the acquisition of easements and full title land, whether by condemnation or voluntary, and
(2) The long-term, broad-scale acquisition of private property along Perkiomen Creek and in the vicinity.

First, judging by experiences elsewhere in the country, the creation of the Perkiomen Trail poses a grave threat for private property owners because of the nuisances that the trail will conduct onto their land in one way or another.

As opposed to the type of parks that people are used to, trails are not square and blocky, but are linear, and therefore difficult to fence and patrol. Acts of violence and lesser crimes such as littering, fires, use of alcoholic beverages and drugs are a problem with trails. These offenses occur along the back yards of the properties along the trail. Sometimes the misuse of trails involves repeated, extreme noise, as when ATV’s take free rein, and this can be right outside the back doors of property owners, also creating a lot of dust........Municipalities that build trails do not like to fence them, because of cost and because fencing would reduce the pleasant feeling of “open space,” which is ironically donated by the owners of the properties along the trail; but fences are the only protection from trespass. In fact, municipalities rarely even place protective warning signs marking boundaries at regular, short intervals along trails, for the same reasons....When you come down to it, municipalities generally do as little as possible to respect the private property owners who are saddled with the impact of trails. Take liability, for instance: Formally recorded easement documents rarely convey liability, and the assumption of all legal costs, in perpetuity to the municipality.

Property Rights Foundation of America, Inc.
PROPERTY RIGHTS, TRAILS, & OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION
Landowners Should Come First When Weighing Social Benefits, Infringements, and Liabilities

By Carol W. LaGrasse
President
Property Rights Foundation of America

Property Rights Foundation of America, Inc.
Grants Have Agendas
By Carol W. LaGrasse

Testimony
By Carol W. LaGrasse
President
Property Rights Foundation of America
Regarding H.R. 1286
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
National Historic Trail Designation Act
October 30, 2007

Also see:

http://www.trails.montcopa.org/trails/site/default.asp
http://walkbikeberks.blogspot.com/2007/11/thun-trail-closure-at-douglassville.html
http://www.schuylkillriver.org/
http://bcgp.blogspot.com/
http://www.schuylkillbanks.org/
http://www.schuylkillcanal.com/
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v202/freetheriverpark/

And on the cache front:
Action News Special Report: Eminent Domain Last Updated: Jul 16, 2001

There is a growing trend toward using eminent domain for private business and recreational facilities.

It's not the yellow brick road that is marked by stakes and paint. It's the hot button eminent domain issue in Montgomery County. It's one stretch of the planned Perkiomen trail. These residents are outraged government can carve up their backyards without their consent.

....Derek Collier/Schwenksville, PA: "I own that land, that's what really upsets me. I paid taxes on it for 14 years."

Michael Marino/Chairman of Montgomery County Commissioners: "We're entitled to take the land."

The county is preparing to do just that. Al Nelligan says the few hundred dollars being given to them won't make up for the loss in their property values. Residents thought eminent domain was used for critical public interest projects like schools and roads.

But a recreation trail?

.....The residents also think they smell a rat, or the odor of manure. Spearheading this trail which will be used by horseback riders is County Commission Chairman Michael Marino, who just happens to own a horse-for-hire stable. Some might consider this a conflict of interest....

Remember this?
Posted on Wed, May 9, 2007
Skippack Township clarifies position
By DAVID HARE

SKIPPACK TWP. — Supervisors on Wednesday approved an easement for the Skippack Township Walking Trail, setting the stage for negotiations with a resident who owns property along the trail.

Chris Eckerd, who owns property along Perkiomen Creek Road, said he now hoped to reach an agreement for the strip of land along the road.

Supervisors chairman Mark Marino said the easement needed for the walking trail would be about 160 feet in length, and 18 to 20 feet wide.

Eckerd said the township had lead him to believe they wanted to condemn roughly 30,000 square feet of his land for the Biltmore Estates, a housing development of T.H. Properties. In the past few weeks, Eckerd has used a personal Web site condemning the township’s use of eminent domain for what he said was for the benefit of THP.

Marino and township solicitor Jill Zimmerman told Eckerd that the township was only interested in acquiring the easement for the walking trail.

“We can’t allow one little sliver of ground to stop a project for the entire township,” Marino said.

See: http://changeskippack.com/index.html

http://prfamerica.org/indices/TrailsNatl-Index.html