April 24, 2021, 10:00am at Foxburg Bridge – “Ground-breaking for the Foxburg Trailhead and Small Community Park. Join Us to Celebrate this Beginning!”
ARTinCC is pleased to invite you to celebrate our official Groundbreaking ceremony coinciding with National Trails Day on Sat April 24 at 10:00am. The public is invited to join us at the site of the Trailhead and proposed Municipal Park adjacent to the Foxburg Bridge on Rt 58. Local and state officials will be on hand to lift a shovel to get this project started. With many of us already vaccinated, it will be a safe, outdoor event with plenty of open space. The trail concept has been years in the making. Many failed attempts preceded this actual official event to start moving earth. Thanks to a DCNR grant and a very generous donation from a “Friend of the Trail”, ARTinCC owns almost 2 acres at the bridge which will become a focal point for the community. ARTinCC has immediate needs which we hope to fill with volunteer help. We need someone who is familiar with grant applications. We need volunteers to help clear brush and debris to make way for heavy construction equipment. Chains saws, weed whackers, rakes, pickup trucks to haul away debris, etc. And, of course, we need DONORS.
The final plan will depend directly on funding available. We hope to include a space for relaxing with a river view, a gazebo, entertainment area, and a spot for the old red caboose. If funding is sufficient, we hope to recondition the existing boat launch for use by paddlers. And there will be plenty of parking for bikers, hikers, walkers, runners, xc skiers and paddlers, even fishing enthusiasts. Additional ideas are a space for a local Farmer’s Market, and additional space for the annual Foxburg Festival. We want your ideas for how to make this new park a welcoming gathering place for the community and visitors along the trail. Construction engineering and traffic safety controls for trail users crossing Rt 58 are under study right now. We have the first mile toward Emlenton under control and are working on easements with additional landowners.
On the Emlenton end, The Allegheny Valley Trail Authority has already secured a DCNR grant to restore the Richey Run bridge and create ADA compliant access to the trail. We are really looking forward to having this beautiful section along our scenic waterway open for us to come and go between Emlenton and Foxburg. Once completed, the connection all the way to Oil City will be open. And we are already open from Foxburg to Parker. The trail south of Foxburg extends a little beyond Parker where there is an additional 6 mile gap to Upper Hillville. We plan to close this gap after we have the Emlenton-Foxburg link underway.
We welcome volunteers who are interested in working that section of the trail too. Once that gap is closed, there will be open trail all the way along the edge of Clarion County to the Armstrong Trail, Redbank Valley Trial, to Ford City, Freeport and Butler. And, of course, other trail groups are working on the additional sections that will eventually complete the entire 270 mile stretch from Erie to Pittsburgh. Can you imagine, biking from Erie to Pittsburgh and on to Washington DC!
Please consider volunteering work or materials. All donations and members are welcome.
Our Facebook GROUP has connections to other trail groups, trail users and friends. It is a friendly place to meet, to share experiences and photos along the trails.
Our Facebook PAGE is designed specifically to inform followers about our current projects, progress and immediate needs and to provide information and links to our website for volunteers, membership, sponsorship and donations. We encourage you to take a few minutes to check us out. If you like what you see, get involved. Volunteer. Donate. Become a member. Become a Sponsor. Welcome everyone! Let’s do this!
