I’m concerned about possible environmental impacts that may result from your recent paving of the Trail in WhitemarshTownship.Can you please address this comment?
The County has considered many options with regard to the trail through the WissahickonValley.We need to have a Trail surface that will hold up to continual flood events, while making sure that there is no increase in the flood elevation for the creek.We had originally used cinder and stone paving, but it was washed out within the first six months of construction, causing considerable wash into the Creek.The County has since decided to pave the trail within the flood plain area.There is no specific research on runoff from trail pavements, however there is a great deal of information on runoff from roadway pavements, which is mostly concerned with the “first flush” of contamination related to vehicles such as gas and oil drips, tire rubber, salt and anti-skid materials, etc.In fact, once the asphalt is cured, little or no petroleum based materials leach out of the pavement material and since the trail is not traveled by motor vehicles, there is no other pollutants to wash away.Regarding any hydrocarbons running off of applied asphalt, once the asphalt is cooled and solidified, there are no run offs of any particular concern.In fact, the positive water quality aspect is that no aggregate sand, and other components of a non-paved trail will wash into the Creek.
As the County continues to develop both the Wissahickon and Cross County Trail, which both go through the Wissahickon Creek Valley, we will continue to pave within the floodplain and will consider paving those areas that are part of the trail but are outside of the floodplain, in an effort to eliminate silt and stone washouts, especially in such close proximity to the creek, itself.
