A new walking/riding trail is in the planning stages that would connect Jim Thorpe to Pottsville.

A public workshop was held at LCCC, Tamaqua, to get input on the proposed trail and to hear any suggestions they may have.

The 30-mile trail would connect the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor in Jim Thorpe to the Schuylkill River Greenway in Pottsville. The proposed route of the trail would take it from Jim Thorpe; through Nesquehoning, Lansford, Summit Hill, Coaldale, Tamaqua, Middleport, New Philadelphia, Cumbola, Port Carbon, Mechanicsville, Palo Alto, and end in Pottsville.

The exact route of the trail has yet to be determined. The purpose of the public workshop was to get the public’s input as to where the trail should go. Sections of the trail will be going through the towns, and would use “lower stress streets” to connect the towns. Maps of the towns were set up and the public was given small stickers to place on large poster-sized maps on the routes they thought the trails should use.

The new section of trail will be a part of the 1,500 mile 9/11 National Memorial Trail, and will be called the Anthracite Connector Trail Corridor.

Robert Armstrong is one of those working on the project. He works in the Philadelphia office of WSP, an engineering firm that is providing engineering expertise.

“There are some existing trails that we are looking at,” Armstrong explained, “one of which is the Schuylkill Valley Heritage Trail which runs along (Route) 209, which does need to be rehabilitated.”

The new trail will be 8 to 10 feet wide, and covered with either macadam or crushed stone. The trail would be open to non-motor vehicles: bicycles, roller blades, strollers, etc. The plan is that the trail will be ADA compliant.

Sen. David Argall attended the meeting, and was pleased at the public turnout and their interest in the project.

“We tried to do something like this twenty years ago, and it just bombed,” Argall said. “There was very little interest. I think since then, people have a much better understanding of the power of what a good trail can bring to a community. This is the kind of program that really needs community input. It really needs community support from Jim Thorpe to Pottsville.”

“The 9/11 National Memorial Trail is a trail of remembrance,” Andy Hamilton from the 9/11 Alliance explained. “It’s a trail that was envisioned in 2001. A number of us got together to work on this trail to connect communities to memorials, and create opportunities all along the 1,500 miles.”

The 9/11 National Memorial Trail is a 1,500-mile system of trails and roadways that symbolize resiliency and character while linking the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Arlington, VA, and the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, PA. The trail serves as a tribute to the fallen heroes who perished on September 11, 2001, and the many heroes who committed themselves to the response for their country.

The public is encouraged to add their voices to the project by filling out the survey. The deadline to access the survey is June 30. Two more public meetings will be held in the fall, which will give some of the findings of the survey.

Access the survey here: bit.ly/3SKNwgB.

Learn more about the 9/11 National Memorial Trail at 911trail.org