The River Town Planning Charrette and the site tour that preceded it reconfirmed the issues with site access. The tour was constrained by time, having only 30 minutes to glance along the riverfront, but it was perhaps more significantly constrained by the lack of facilities, sidewalks, specificially, along the river. As we walked, it was painfully clear that the only place available for walking was at a remove from the riverbank. There was, everywhere, a site along the water, then a road, then a sidewalk. We walked and stood over on the sidewalk and looked, gestured, pointed and generally wondered about the over yonder area. On the one hand, it made for a shorter journey; on the other hand, it made for a less satisfying one, too. A real river access tour in Lewisburg is more of a fractal-esque experience as we keep moving along the provided sidewalks and then darting out across the way to the river and then back again as we move along.
The long term goal is to be able to get from here to there and back again more smoothly and with less questioning of our motives. Because the real message one gets from the way things are currently set up is "you can get there, if you want to, but why would you?"
We have offered riverbank access tours in the past and for the non-abbreviated version, shown here, it takes about 2 hours, round trip. It would be good to start that up again and we will look to schedule one in the next month or so. If you want the virtual tour instead, you can also visit the photo gallery generated for the River Town Charrette on google drive here. Images are separated by site, including the in between and beyond sites like roads and areas outside the Borough boundaries.
The Walk It! Bike It! Lewisburg project, focused on improving bicycle and pedestrian safety and accommodation in the Lewisburg area, is working on these issues. The group meets on the first Fridays of the month, at 8am, in the Borough Council Chamber at 55 S 5th St. If you'd like to get involved, please consider attending. There is no requirement to be a resident or property owner, simply that you be interested in the potential and current reality of non-motorized transportation options in the area. Let's work together to envision and realize a better future!