Allegheny River Trail in Clarion County, Inc. (ARTinCC) is excited to report that on October 13, they finally closed on the purchase of the former Hunt Bros. 1.94 acre site along the Allegheny River, on the north side of the Rt. 58 Bridge. Their first work day to begin land preparation for the bike trail and associated parking, was the weekend of October 21. Check out a Youtube overview of the workday at https://youtube.com/watch?v=MwmoqieCmNE. The next work day for volunteers – including you if possible – will be Saturday, November 6, beginning 10:00 am. Wear old work clothes, good gloves, and eye protection, bring loppers and limb cutters – assemble onsite just across the Rt. 58 bridge. Details will be posted to their Facebook page and group – www.facebook.com/AlleghenyRiverTrailinClarion County and www.face book.com/groups/artincc.friends/about. An email will be sent to all who have notified them they want to be a volunteer re the trail. Notify us now if you can come (info@artincc.org), or call 412-721-7615.
ARTinCC now owns a full mile of the 66’ wide railroad right of way, and hope to own more as additional landowners negotiate Easement Agreements with them, comparable to that with Guy Shoup. They will develop the bike trail based on volunteer labor, your contributions, and hopefully funding from agencies. Their website, www.artincc.org, is set up to accept credit card contributions, fill out a Volunteer
Form so we have good contact info for you, and otherwise let you know what we are doing. We also will develop the roughly 4 acre Fox-Hunt Community Park (aerial photo of the raw land attached), again based on your contributions of labor and cash, and other funding sources. Building the bike trail will be based on past experience and designs. The Fox-Hunt Park, however, is filled with many possibilities based on what the river and land will permit, as well as what you and others want to see happen. We have begun to interview professional park planners, to bring expert advice into the planning process, including broad public input. It is not too early for you to walk the site at your own risk – a good bit of lawn has been mowed, and the railroad right of way is beginning to be cleared up to 700’ north from the bridge, for now ending at the elevated area where Guy Shoup temporarily is parking Trailers. Please do not walk anywhere further near Guy’s trucking operations, until we can fence off this area.
Mass meetings to discuss park ideas might have to wait a while due to COVID measures, but we want your ideas as soon as you want to give them. We hope to publish a questionnaire in the Progress News, asking for feedback on our ideas so far, the ideas of the Planner, and other key players with whom we intend to meet. Send us your ideas (and contributions) now, by e-mail info@artincc.org, or to ARTinCC, c/o Robert L. Jennings, Jr., President, PO Box 325, Foxburg, PA 16036, 412-721-7615.
It has taken ARTinCC years to get this far, but they are very excited to get to this point, and they hope you will join in their efforts.