Montour Trail-Letter

Volume 11, Issue 4

July/August, 2000

The Montour Trail Council celebrated National Trail Day on June 3 with the formal opening of what has already become one of its busiest miles of trail: the northern end of the Bethel Park spur.

Extending 2.1 miles from the Peters Township border northward to the intersection of Logan and Irishtown Roads, the Bethel Park spur will become the main gateway to the Montour Trail for thousands of South Hills residents. The first mile (south of Clifton Road) opened in the Fall of 1998, and the northern portion was completed earlier this spring.

The opening ceremony featured appearances by an impressive series of key contributors to the trail. All three of Bethel Park's state legislators (Sen. Tim Murphy, Rep. John Maher, and Rep. Ralph Kaiser), each of whom has helped to provide funds for the Montour Trail, were present. Larry Myers spoke on behalf of Allegheny Power, which provided an easement for the trail plus a $7,400 contribution toward its construction. Board chairperson Susan Gold represented the Allegheny Land Trust, which made Allegheny County Regional Asset District funds available for the project.

The occasion was especially memorable for Peter Kohnke, MTC vice president and head of the Friends of the Montour Trail in Bethel Park, who worked tirelessly to negotiate an easement with Allegheny Power when few thought a Bethel Park trail section would ever happen.

Once the land was secured, however, support for the project grew rapidly. Seeing the value of a scenic trail in the midst of its populous residential community, the Municipality of Bethel Park pitched in with $30,000 of financial support plus considerable in-kind assistance.

John Mackey, Bethel Park chief of police, introduced the first two members of his department's bicycle patrol, which will be seen regularly along the trail. Financial support from the Bethel Park Friends helped the police department acquire its bicycles.

Considering Bethel Park's nature as a high-density suburb, the trail segment is surprisingly wooded and peaceful, crossing just two roads in two miles. A pedestrian bridge to eliminate the busier of those two crossings--where the trail meets Clifton Road at an awkward angle--is on the MTC's list of future projects.

The new mile of trail creates a continuous segment of over 6.5 miles in Bethel Park and Peters that is suitable for walkers. However, nearly a mile of that segment, between the county line and Peters Township's Arrowhead Trail, is still an undeveloped dirt path.