In their July meeting, the Green Lane Borough Council approved the proposed PHTN route through Green Lane.
Green Lane Borough has been viewed as a significant hub along the planned route of the Pennsylvania Highlands Trail Network since the development of the PHTN Concept Plan: Unami Hills to Hopewell Big Woods in 2015. The quality of the natural and recreational assets in and around the Borough make the town an important stop along the PHTN. Green Lane Borough is adjacent to Green Lane Park, a 3,400 acre county park with three bodies of water for boating and fishing, 25 miles of trails for hking, biking and horse-back riding, and a connection to the 20 mile long Perkomen Trail. Green Lane also lies just outside the Unami Forest, an Audubon Imprtant Bird Area that provides habitat to many diverse bird species and provides excellent birding opportuntiies. The Borough offers future trail users places to stop and have a bite to eat and explore historic resources like Red Men’s Hall and the Goschenhoppen Museum, a museum that interprets the history of this Pennsylvania Dutch community. A main objective of the project in Green Lane is to improve access to the Perkiomen Trail from town.
The Trail Route
The PHTN is planned to head into Montgomery County from Milford Township, Bucks County and travel south through Marlborough Township toward Green Lane. In Green Lane, the PHTN route will be on-sidewalk for pedestrians and on-road for bicyclists. From the east side of town, the Highlands Trail route will follow Main Street west to Fifth Street, where it will turn south and follow Fifth Street to Walnut Street. At Walnut Street, the trail route turns west and heads to Route 29/Gravel Pike. At Gravel Pike, the trail turns north until it reaches the Perkiomen Trail access point (shown below), where the Borough route ends. The Highlands Trail continues along the Perkiomen Trail for most of its length and connects to the Schuylkill River Trail in Oaks.
Next Steps
Appalachian Mountain Club will work with Green Lane to determine the location of signage along the trail. Trail signage provides wayfinding for trail users and alerts motorists to the trail route and to the presence of pedestrians and bicyclists.
