Montour Trail-Letter

by Bruce Barron

With the goal of a completed trail in sight, the Montour Trail Council is seeking to build support for an ambitious effort to finish the job.

Having gained wide recognition as one of southwestern Pennsylvania's most valuable recreational assets, the Montour Trail has received government grants to complete several sections of trail now under development. But funds are still needed for other sections, such as the segment in Peters Township west of Route 19.

In addition, some right-of-way acquisition will still be necessary, and the Montour Trail Council must construct new parking areas and secure equipment to maintain the whole trail.

The remaining needs add up to an estimated $2-3 million. That may sound frightening, but it's definitely achievable, as the MTC board was reminded recently when a business located near the trail tracked us down (before we even knew they existed) to offer a sizable donation.

We believe that many more individuals and businesses would be happy to make a contribution toward completing the Montour Trail. Tasteful forms of recognition (such as "adopt-a-mile" acknowledgments similar to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation?s adopt-a-highway program) should help to make supporting the Montour Trail a still better deal for corporate sponsors.

The MTC has just produced a colorful, eight-page booklet explaining why the Montour Trail is worth supporting. Board members will be contacting local foundation, civic, and corporate leaders to explain our plans and ask for their assistance. You can help too by telling us about persons who you believe might respond favorably to a presentation about the Montour Trail.

Please contact fundraising chairperson, Bruce Barron at (412) 561-3883 or MTC President, Peter Kohnke at (412) 854-1835 with your ideas and to suggest prospective supporters whom we should contact. To get a copy of the new MTC presentation booklet, call our general line at (412) 831-2030.

And of course, please don't forget to keep your MTC membership current and to encourage your friends to become members of the Montour Trail. Each member's contribution helps to keep our existing trail mileage in good shape and brings us a little bit closer to that long-awaited goal of an uninterrupted trail from Coraopolis to Clairton.