Supervisors questioned on trail plan

In a relatively brief and uneventful meeting, Chadds Ford Township supervisors last night clarified the procedures and their position on a possible trail cutting through the township.

The discussion was prompted by resident Bruce Prabel who asked to give a presentation on why he opposes using the former Octorara rail line for a trail. Prabel — who was a strong opponent of the Rails-to-Trails proposal 20 years ago — did not attend last week’s meeting where the Open Space Task Force gave a presentation that included several trail possibilities, including the use of the old rail line that runs east and west through the township.

Supervisors declined Prabel’s request saying it was not the time for that now, but he could give the presentation at a later date if the matter were included in the final plan.

Supervisors’ Chairman Frank Murphy explained that the idea for using the rail line came from Delaware County and that the plan presented last week was not final.

"It [the rail line trail] is not in front of us…and we’re not in favor of it," Murphy said.

He continued, explaining that once a final plan is submitted, the township would send a copy to every resident and then there would be another public meeting.

"If a plan comes in with the Octorara proposal, we’ll have a meeting on it," he said.

After the meeting, Murphy was asked whether the board has a line item type of veto power. He said the board does and could, therefore, vote in favor of a plan with the rail trail on it, but not approve that particular element.

As reported last week, the task force will finalize the plan by November, with the board voting on that plan before the end of the year.

The story  on last week's meeting can be found here.

 

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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