NEWS
MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS
COURT HOUSE, NORRISTOWN, PA., BOX 311, 19404-0311
PHONE (610) 278-3061 FAX 278-5943
COMMISSIONERS:
JAMES R. MATTHEWS, Chairman, JOSEPH M. HOEFFEL, Vice Chairman, BRUCE L. CASTOR, JR, Commissioner
RELEASE: IMMEDIATELY 01/16/09 PR#09-02
Montgomery County Commissioners Funding Horsham Recreational Trail System
HORSHAM — Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews presented Horsham Township Council with a check Wednesday for $1.4 million to help develop another three miles of trails.
The Township will match the County grant with $310,000 for the $1.7 million project. The township has already built two miles of the County’s Power Line Trail from its border with Upper Moreland to Babylon Road.
The funds come from Greenfields/Greentowns, the County’s 10-year $150 million open space preservation program that voters approved overwhelmingly in 2002.
This project will extend the Power Line Trail in Horsham another mile and add two additional miles of township trails extending into its parks and residential areas.
Horsham has more than 815 acres of parkland, the most of any municipality in the County, Matthews noted when presenting the grant.
“That’s why this was such an easy decision to make,” he said. “You’ve demonstrated with your own money that you get it. You want to preserve as much of what you have as you can and we want to help you get there.”
The County Commissioners will be coming to voters again this November asking them to support another $150 million program to improve traffic flow on area roads, Matthews said.
The state and federal governments have clearly indicated that all of their transportation dollars for the foreseeable future will be used to fix existing roads and bridges that are wearing out.
“Montgomery County and its municipalities are going to have to get together and fix some of our own problems,” Matthews said. “Little things like fixing intersections or coordinating traffic signals can make a big difference.”
Horsham Township Councilman Andrew Santacroce, Councilwoman Joanna Furia, Council President W. William Whiteside, Montgomery County Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews, Councilman Mark McCouch and Councilman Gregory Nesbitt.
