Birmingham Township is not part of the Brandywine Valley Scenic Byway Commission. It was early on, but supervisors voted to withdraw in February 2011.
Supervisor John Conklin, who had been Birmingham’s representative on the commission, said at the time there was too little of Birmingham within the Route 52 byway corridor to make participation worthwhile and that there had been more talk than action. Conklin wrote a letter in July 2011 saying that the amount of Route 52 in Birmingham is “minimal.”
The commission tried sweetening the pot by adding Creek Road to the byway plan, but Conklin said Creek Road is too narrow for any development or building and supervisors declined a request to rejoin in 2012.
Now, though, the commission would like to see Birmingham back in the fold. To that end, Brandywine Conservancy’s John Snook gave a brief presentation on the commission’s Corridor Management Plan to the supervisors during their March 2 meeting.
Also attending was Byway Commission Chairman John Haedrich, from Kennett Township, and Alma Forsythe from Pennsbury.
Prior to Snook’s presentation, Haedrich said the management plan could be considered similar to a township’s comprehensive plan. He said the plan is written and just waiting for final comment from PennDOT.
“Once we adopt it, it will be the strategic plan for us to go forward,” Haedrich said.
He said after the session that the idea behind the byway — which would run up Route 52 from the Delaware state line to just south of West Chester, and back down — is to give travelers, both local and tourists, a “better experience” while driving through the area.
In all, 25 miles of Pennsylvania roadways are involved.
According to Snook, “We’re hoping to get Birmingham to come back in, but we realize that’s entirely up to you. But, the byway is intrinsically a part of Birmingham.”
One of the themes for the byway is history and the commission is eager to have Birmingham return because that’s where the major portions of the Battle of Brandywine were fought.
The corridor also includes sites that were part of the Underground Railroad.
“The vision is that the byway continue to be a place with a deep and varied history, recognizable in the landscape,” Snook said.
In addition to the historical theme, scenery is also a part of the intrinsic value, as is the ability to update open space priorities.
In a 2014 interview, Snook said the plan shows how the landscape evolved from prehistoric times through the period of European settlement. He also said at that time the plan could help strengthen local zoning ordinances.
Snook and Haedrich both said another goal is to coordinate actions among the participating townships, to get them to collaborate on preserving the “intrinsic qualities” of the corridor.
In addition to Birmingham, East Marlborough also dropped out after Route 52 was re-routed. The remaining five townships taking part in the Byway Commission are East Bradford, Kennett, Pennsbury, Chadds Ford and Pocopson.
After the presentation, supervisors moved on to other items on the meeting agenda with no further discussion regarding the byway.
The corridor management plan can be found on line at http://brandywinevalleybyway.org
Other business
• Supervisors awarded the 2015 Road Program to A.F. Damon, Inc. Damon was the low bidder of four companies. The winning bid, was $93,500 for the base job and two add-ons, which is less than the anticipated cost of $100,000. Township engineer Jim Hatfield jokingly said it was the first time the township was the high bidder.
When questioned by Supervisor Scott Boorse about Damon’s reputation, Hatfield said Damon has done work for the township before and is highly qualified.
• Supervisors also voted to request a flashing strobe light for the red light on the traffic signal at Route 202 and Penn Oaks Drive.
• In another vote, the board accepted the updated Emergency Management Plan. The plan is updated every two years, per state requirements. The plan is for internal use only and is not open to public review.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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