The Newtown Borough Council and the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors have signed off on a grant application that if successful would pay for the construction of a pedestrian bridge over the Newtown Creek.
The municipalities will be seeking a grant from the Commonwealth Financing Authority to fund 100 percent of the cost of the project, which is estimated at $877,894.88.
The new span would be built on the site of a former bridge that once carried trolleys over the creek in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It would connect Newtown Borough in the area of Frost Lane with North Sycamore Street in the township behind Penn Community Bank.
In addition to the new bridge, the grant would fund the creation of a new trail that would provide access to the new span on both sides of the creek.
After being sidelined by the pandemic, Mike Sellers, of the Newtown Creek Coalition, resurrected the idea last fall with appearances before the board of supervisors and the borough council. (Read “Pedestrian Bridge Over #NewtownPA Creek May Be Back On The Table”; https://sco.lt/5mZtEu)
Earlier this year, both municipalities authorized their engineers to begin working together on the project and to begin pursuing grant opportunities.
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The Newtown Planning Commission voted 7-1 to write a letter of support of an application by the Newtown Creek Coalition for a grant to build a pedestrian bridge over Newtown Creek from Frost Lane to North Sycamore Street at Durham Road. The nay voter expressed concern about costs if the project is not funded by grants. According to the minutes of the meeting, “he is not opposed to the bridge project, but if the grant does not cover the entire cost, he would not want Township taxpayer funds to be used.”
What's YOUR Opinion?
There are currently TWO #NewtownPA Creek pedestrian bridges proposed - one at Frost Lane and Edgeboro Road in the Borough to North Sycamore Street in the Township and one at the other end of town connecting the proposed Steeple View development in the Borough to Carl Sedia Park in the Township.
The Newtown BOS already approved apply for a grant for the Frost Lane bridge (read more about that here). The Steeple View bridge is just a concept, but the developer has already asked in confidence for opinions from Newtown BOS members (read more about that here).
In general, how much are you in favor of/opposed to these proposed bridges?
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