LOWER MERION \u2014 The Main Line Greenway is a network of low-stress, bicycle-friendly streets connecting neighborhoods, parks, schools and commercial districts.<\/p>\n
But the one thing the greenway needs is proper signage, and Lower Merion Township officials hope a new grant can help bring those signs.<\/p>\n
Recently, Lower Merion commissioners adopted a resolution authorizing the township staff to submit a mini-grant application to the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for the new signage for the Main Line Greenway.<\/p>\n
The new signage will help users navigate the network.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Main Line Greenway was developed to serve as a safe, easy, and accessible bike route connecting residents from Lower Merion Township, Haverford Township, and Narberth Borough to local economic hubs and community gathering places,\u201d according to the issue briefing outlining the concept of the Main Line Greenway to the commissioners.<\/p>\n
Currently, there is no signage directing residents along the bike route.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe estimated cost to fabricate and install signage along the Southeast portion of the Main Line Greenway route is approximately $75,000. Staff have developed a plan to complete the project in phases, allowing the Township to strategically utilize smaller funding sources such as the 2025 Cycling Activation Program,\u201d according to the staff memo.<\/p>\n
When the grant was discussed during a committee meeting in early September, Chris Leswing, director of Building and Planning in Lower Merion, told the commissioners that his department had collaborated with the township\u2019s sustainability team to find the grant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just going to put a plug in for our new member sustainability team, who actually discovered this grant, and I think it was one of the goals of expanding the sustainability manager position,\u201d Leswing said.<\/p>\n
According to a press release from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council on the grant program, the types of projects that can be included for the grant include gravel or bike-packing route development, promotional materials, interpretive signage, mapping, and events and programming.<\/p>\n
The \u201cprojects and programs should engage local stakeholders in planning and implementation, strengthen partnerships, promote stewardship, engage new audiences, foster inclusivity and support the outdoor recreation economy.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the difficulties of placing the signs on roadways is that there are laws restricting the location of greenway signs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s Pennsylvania law prohibits against adding to traffic control devices. So those signs are not available. A lot of the signs that we see are traffic control devices,\u201d Leswing said.<\/p>\n
Traffic control devices include items such as stop signs.<\/p>\n
Leswing said the greenway signs could be attached to some other poles such as parking signs.<\/p>\n