Chadds Ford Planning Commission members received a briefing on a planned 30-mile long Brandywine-Struble Greenway that would run from Chadds Ford to Honey Brook.

Sheila Fleming, from the Brandywine Conservancy, said the idea has been in the development stage since July and assured the commissioners that the project—at least for now—is being funded 100 percent by the William Penn Foundation.

“There’s no cost to the 16 communities,” she said.

Fleming said townships may be asked to enact ordinances later on to support the greenway, but “You won’t be forced to do anything,” adding “The idea is not to seek funding from the municipalities.”

The current planning stage idea is to create, what Fleming called “a common vision for a conservation corridor along the Brandywine.”

Ultimately, she said, the plan could link trails from the Brandywine State Park in Delaware to Honey Brook with the idea of connecting people with the creek.

Part of the greenway is already underway because a lot of land along the way is already protected by conservation easements or by homeowners’ associations that kept land as open space.

Fleming said Chadds Ford was significant because it’s rich with historic resources, but that each of the municipalities have their own unique characteristics and can use the greenway for their own purposes.

Some of the uses include preserving habitat, promoting land and water diversity, improving air and water quality and for developing recreation and businesses.

A complete overview is available at www.brandywineconservancy.org/greenway/ while other greenway sites are pagreenways.org and pennypackgreenway.org

Fleming said the Brandywine-Struble Greenway would be more like the Pennypack Greenway.

Chadds Ford Township resident Kathleen Goodier is the liaison between the township supervisors and the conservancy.

She said she’s “excited about the opportunity to work with other townships for a common goal, the conservation and preservation of natural resources.”