Community Corner

Train-to-Trail Connector Path Takes Small Step Forward

Multi-use path would connect Paoli Transportation Center to Chester Valley Trail.

The blue line on the map above could be a big deal to people who live and work in the Great Valley.

It represents a proposed multi-use path that might someday connect the nascent Paoli Transportation Center to the Chester Valley Trail—and, by extention, the Great Valley Corporate Center. The trail would give pedestrians and bicyclists an alternative to dangerous roadways.

The Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC) on Jan. 25 announced it is seeking bids for a feasibility study of the path:

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The Paoli Trail Connection, 1.2-mile long project, would connect central Paoli along West Central Avenue to the Chester Valley Trail (CVT) along Cedar Hollow Road. This intersection could also support a link to the proposed Patriots Path. 

This is a small, early step toward the trail, and it's too soon to say now whether it will be built or not. Neither endpoint is currently ready to receive it. Construction has not begun on the Paoli Transportation Center, and Phase 2 of the Chester Valley Trail is not yet ready for the public.

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View a map of the Chester Valley Trail here (PDF).

The official Request for Proposals describes the path as 1.4 miles:

The Transportation Management Association of Chester County (TMACC), in partnership with Tredyffrin and Willistown Townships and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is seeking a qualified consulting firm or consulting team to complete a shovel-ready feasibility study and design for a 1.4 mile multiuse pathway segment connecting the Paoli Train Station in Paoli, PA to the Chester Valley Trail (CVT) at the Vanguard Headquarters Campus and Matthews Rd via West Central Avenue and Cedar Hollow Road in Malvern, PA

It also lays out some of the challenges and possible solutions:

Challenges include the substantial grade of Cedar Hollow Rd., averaging 9% between Vanguard and West Central Ave.  Another significant issue is the existing railroad underpass, which is only 17.5 feet wide. Traffic is stop-controlled on both sides of the underpass, so bicyclists and pedestrians can negotiate it with reasonable certainty of avoiding oncoming traffic. It may be desirable, though expensive, to bore a parallel tunnel dedicated to bicycle and pedestrian traffic to increase user safety and functionality.

The deadline for proposals is Feb. 22. 

See also:

Pedestrian Trail Could Connect CVT to Paoli Transportation Center

Patriots Path Will Some Day Link Malvern and Valley Forge

Closed Tunnel Could Some Day Link Malvern Borough to Great Valley


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