Footbridge Project Takes Step Forward In Newtown Borough And Township

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — After being sidelined by the pandemic, plans are back on track for a pedestrian footbridge proposed to be built over the Newtown Creek .

The borough and the township are moving forward this week with plans to engineer the project, which is expected to be fully funded through grant dollars.

At its January 10 meeting, the Newtown Borough Council authorized its engineers to pursue a grant with the township to fund the Newtown Creek Pedestrian Bridge at Frost Lane.

At Wednesday night’s meeting of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors, the supervisors also recommitted to the project voting to work jointly with the borough on the grant application.

In late 2019, just months before the pandemic, the supervisors and the borough council approved resolutions supporting the concept and working with each other and the Newtown Creek Coalition to explore the feasibility of the project.

"That work was suspended in March 2020 when local governments and Pennsylvania stopped all unessential activity," said Mike Sellers of the Newtown Creek Coalition. "We are now asking the borough and the township to pick up where we left off."

The project proposes to create a safe, recreational connection across the Newtown Creek that would link existing and planned recreation trails and provide a safer alternative for walkers and bikers to cross the creek, according to Sellers.

“There is no safe pedestrian crossing anywhere along the creek as it exists,” said Sellers. “We think it’s a good value. We think there’s tremendous potential. We want to take the next step in a partnership to explore the idea,” he said.

Up until 2016, residents had the option of crossing the creek using a pedestrian bridge located off of North State Street. The bridge, however, located on private property was shut down after it fell into disrepair and became a liability to the property owner.

Pedestrians also have the option of crossing at the two existing bridges - one owned by the county on Jefferson and the other owned by the state at Centre Avenue.

But Sellers called the spans problematic for safe pedestrian crossing, noting that both only have a walkway on one side, which makes two way pedestrian traffic a challenge with baby strollers and larger groups

And Sellers said retrofitting either bridge with a second sidewalk to create a safer condition would be a “tremendous struggle.

“The good news is pedestrians can cross in some fashion. The bad news is it is particularly difficult for bikers, walkers and strollers to get across the creek,” said Sellers.

As a solution, the Creek Coalition has proposed utilizing the stone piers of a former trolley bridge at Frost Lane for the construction of a new pedestrian bridge that would connect Front Road with Durham Road.

The trolley line was discontinued in 1923. It had once traversed Penn Street and State Street before crossing the creek at Frost Lane and continuing its journey to Doylestown.

“The footbridge would create a safe recreational pedestrian connection between the township and the borough,” said Sellers back in 2019.

Sellers told the Newtown Borough Council earlier this month that grant dollars are available through the Commonwealth Financing Authority for up to $1 million with no match required to pay for the project.