The City of Pittston is the recipient of a PennDOT $1 million grant to start a trail beginning at the Firefighters’ Memorial Bridge traveling north ending near or beyond the former Pittston Lumber.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
The former Pittston Lumber facility will be evenutally razed to make up for an upcoming project. This property will tie in the the new proposed trail with the upcoming North Main streetscaping project this year.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON — The City of Pittston’s Office of Community Development recently announced a $1 million grant from PennDOT to extend the Riverfront Trail in conjunction with the upcoming Main Street streetscape project starting at the Firefighters’ Memorial Bridge.
The trail will eventually connect with the planned future connection to the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail. Once connected, residents and visitors will be able to travel north from Pittston for over 70 miles.
The project, being unofficially dubbed the Pittston Lumber trail project, will extend the existing Riverfront Park trail starting at the Firefighter’s Memorial Bridge entrance ending somewhere near the former lumber yard of Pittston Lumber.
This segment will tie into the upcoming phase of the North Main Street streetscaping project.
According to Shannon Bonacci of the Pittston Redevelopment Authority, the trail will feature a safe rail crossing, enhanced lighting for added security, and signage.
“This money is coming at a really good time because we have streetscaping project that we will also be doing street enhancements along North Main Street,” Bonacci said. “Our future plan is to connect this phase of the trail into the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail system in Lackawanna County, which will close a major gap in the corridor.”
Bonacci said, “There’s nothing between Taylor and Pittston, so this is Phase I of us getting closer to closing that gap. Our trail will connect with the Luzerne Co. Rail Trail and if we can connect to that, we would be linking Pittston to Wilkes-Barre, which is going to be a great pivot point between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre.”
Mayor Michael Lombardo said he’s hoping to get at least a mile of trail out of the grant money, hopefully further.
“The good news is, there’s a master plan in place with a way to get from the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail,” Lombardo said.
Lombardo said an announcement would be made regarding the finalized plans for the North Main Street streetscaping project, the Riverfront Trail and the fate of Pittston Lumber in the near future.
“There will be connectivity with all three project,” Lombardo added. “We will have parking, sidewalks to get to the trail, lighting and amenities that will support this entire effort.
Lombardo said bids would go out in a month or two for the North Main Street streetscaping project soon.
“Let me say this, in the next 10 years, the Junction will be unrecognizable,” Lombardo said. “That’s the plan and the Junction will be much different than what you see downtown.”
