Central Chester County Bike and Pedestrian Plan

Earlier in the week, the Downingtown Borough Planning Commission received the final draft of the Chester County Planning Commission's Central Chester County Bike and Pedestrian Plan. We voted in favor of recommending the final plan to be adopted by borough council. One of the highlights of the plan is to extend the Chester Valley Trail, which was referenced in a previous blog post, from its current terminus near Exton further west to terminate in Downingtown Borough, where it will eventually tie in with a number of other proposed bicycle and pedestrian routes, including an extension of the Brandywine Trail into the borough.

From the looks of the map, Downingtown will not only become better connected with West Chester and Exton, but it will serve as a hub for bike and pedestrian activity. Downingtown will have at least three trails terminate in the borough; Chester Valley Trail, the Struble Trail (which already exists), and the Brandywine Trail. Currently, work is progressing on a bridge replacement along Brandywine Avenue south of the borough that will include bike and pedestrian access. The plan here is to essentially bring the Brandywine Trail into Downintown Borough either to the proposed River Station East development or along the Brandywine Creek into Johnsontown Park. The only missing part of this trail is the extension from its southern terminus into West Chester Borough.