Lewisburg Borough is now moving forward with the 6th Street/Bull Run Greenway Planning Project, thanks in part to grant funding from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation. The grant was awarded at the end of 2014, by spring of 2015, the Borough issued a Request for Proposals and received many submissions. After an extensive review process, the Borough hired the design team of Brian S. Auman Landscape Architecture out of Lewisburg and LandStudies out of Lititz.
The 6th Street/Bull Run Greenway Planning Project will include both Master Site Development Planning and Greenway Planning for a continuous zone of public open space running along Bull Run Creek (also known as Limestone Run) from Danny Green Field on St Mary Street, past Phase II of the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail, through Hufnagle Park and Kidsburg Playground, and extending south along 6th Street to meet the Bucknell University campus. The site includes an array of existing park program areas: baseball fields, playgrounds, unstructured open space, a section of rail trail, a covered pedestrian bridge, an exercise course, parking, and formally organized park open space with a gazebo and small amphitheater. Also part of the site is the right of way of S 6th Street, including sidewalks, roadway and other infrastructure. There are no public restroom facilities. The area lies almost entirely within the 100 year floodplain.
In addition to reviewing and proposing enhancements to the recreation functions of the park, the proposed planning project will incorporate S 6th Street along with the recently acquired flood mitigated properties between the street and the creek into Hufnagle Park proper. It will compile input from the community and assemble and analyze additional detailed site information to assess the public floodplain’s potential to mitigate flood impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods even as it enhances water quality and improves habitat. Best management practices and green infrastructure opportunities will be sought throughout the site, with the many existing storm sewer outfalls into the creek providing ample opportunities for infiltration-enhancing improvements.
This plan will provide the community with a much needed opportunity to revisit planning for the Bull Run Greenway now that much of the initial visioning from the Lewisburg Neighborhoods Task Force Report from 2004 has been realized. That report, commissioned jointly by Lewisburg Borough and Bucknell University, called for streetscape/corridor improvements paralleling the greenway to the east and west and for a major public safety initiative to acquire and demolish a string of properties in the greenway, specifically in the floodway between Bull Run Creek and S 6th St. It has taken a decade but much of that plan has been realized. Now the early sketch of Bull Run from that report, which roughed out what changes to the creek itself might look like and made some preliminary proposals about how that might play out in the rest of the park (though largely without respect for existing features or functions), must be scrutinized and the community must weigh in once more on what this continuous corridor of recreational open space can and should become, integrating both beloved existing features as well as new and needed elements.
The project will solicit input from the general public not only through statistical analysis, but also through outreach to the wide range of both current and potential park users. The Greenway Plan will ultimately reflect input from people from all ages and all walks of life and will respond to the unique needs of various groups, including addressing ADA accessibility, routes and parking.
The 6th Street/Bull Run Greenway lies at the heart of Lewisburg’s downtown, intersecting the Main Street Program area on Market Street. Creating a more functional, aesthetic, and sustainable pedestrian- and bike-friendly spine connecting downtown and the university campus will enhance visitor capacity, economic viability, and the overall livability of the Borough for residents. It will become another selling point for area employers looking to entice talent to relocate to Lewisburg. It will add to the tourist appeal of the downtown. And it will help to integrate the cultural heart of downtown into the river’s hydrological network that provided the original impetus for settlement in the area.
The public is invited to follow the progress of the plan here on the LNC website, and to take part in the design process directly by attending the Bull Run Greenway Community Design Charrette on Tuesday, November 10, from 6 to 9pm in Larison Hall on St George Street on the Bucknell Campus. There will be an optional site tour starting at 5:30pm from the Covered Bridge off N 6th St. Pizza will be provided. All are welcome. Come for the entire time or drop in for one of the two breakout sessions between 6:15 and 8:15.
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For more information, please contact the LNC at 570-523-0114 or elmstreet@dejazzd.com. You can also find us on facebook under Lewisburg Neighborhoods.
