Northampton County awarded Lafayette College $75,000 through the Livable Landscapes Grant, which will spur the planning process for a multimodal trail connecting Easton’s College Hill and West Ward neighborhoods to nearby locations.
The initial plans for the trail will connect the Easton neighborhoods to Palmer Township and Forks Township, both located a few miles north of Easton, Pennsylvania. The trail, which will not be completed for several years, will also connect College Hill to the Metzgar Sports Complex and LaFarm, according to the Lafayette Today, as well as existing local trails such as the adjacent Karl Stirner Arts Trail.
“It became clear that there was support for this idea more broadly within the campus community, as well as among our neighbors,” Director of Sustainability Delicia Nahman said.
The Livable Landscapes Grant, established in 2006, has since awarded $20.75 million to projects focused on local park improvements, land conservation and ecological restoration.
The college applied for the grant in the spring, according to Sherry Acevedo, the conservation coordinator for Northampton County Parks and Recreation. As part of the application, the Forks Township Board of Supervisors submitted a letter of support.
“It’s always good when we partner with Lafayette on things because they are a community member, so we’re pretty excited,” said Dean Turner, a supervisor on the Forks Township board.
The application was evaluated on the project’s commitment to the goals of the Livable Landscapes Grant. While there is no current funding for the design or implementation of the trail, the planning will serve as a first step to gaining future funding approval.
Lafayette will have until December 2026 to finalize plans for the trail before funding is cut. Acevedo explained that the initial planning phase will include analyzing existing data and legal feasibility as well as seeking public input.
The college will then create a conceptual trail plan with alternative routes and recommendations for the preliminary design.
“Basically, we utilize the planning efforts as a catalyst, because part of the requirements in our grant program is implementation projects need to be a recommendation in an existing plan,” Acevedo said. “So that’s why it’s very important that we guide all of our grantees.”
The county promises to match up to half of the college’s total expenses on the trail; however, if the total exceeds $150,000 for funding, the county will not go over $75,000, leaving the college to cover the rest, according to Acevedo.
The trail will contribute toward the goals of the campus master plan to increase connections between the college and the Lehigh Valley, according to the Lafayette Today. In addition to serving as an administrator for the Livable Landscapes Program, Acevedo will also serve as a member of the college’s future steering committee that will oversee the trail.
Roles in the steering committee have yet to be assigned, according to Acevedo. However, according to Director of Facilities Planning and Construction Mary Wilford-Hunt, the project will be managed by the college’s division of finance and administration through Audra Kahr, the vice president of the division.
While the project will not be completed for several years, there are hopes for student input during both the planning phase and after completion.
“Potentially there can be a class or two that is involved in doing some of the survey of stakeholder groups,” Nahman said.
She hopes students will continue to brainstorm ideas on how to implement the trail into campus and classroom opportunities even after the trail is built.
“The college has always been, and should always be, a neighbor that welcomes community into our spaces,” she said. “I think this is a perfect demonstration of how we’re trying to facilitate that.”
