Meeting to discuss trail, town improvements in Lehighton

Anyone with thoughts on how to improve Lehighton and its local trails is welcome to have their thoughts heard.

The Lehighton Downtown Initiative and the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor plan improvements to the trails, trailheads and town.

To further that initiative, the groups will meet from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Upper Park Amphitheater, according to Brian Greene, trail programs manager for the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor.

“We lead a program called D&L Trail Towns, and we work with different communities along the D&L Trail to help them take advantage of the trail,” Greene said. “This is part of the process that we do.”

Greene said the public meeting will encompass a walk around the borough and some of its trails, as well as to gather people’s ideas and input as to what they like about their town, the trails, and what can be done to make it better.

“We want to make it a trail-friendly atmosphere; we want it to become a destination for people to come spend a day or a night,” he said. “We want to make that easy for both residents and tourists.”

Greene said trails are good for the environment, the economy and people’s health.

“This is a chance for the public to come share their thoughts, ideas, dreams, things they would like, things they don’t like,” he said. “The public meeting is just like a big brainstorming session.”

Greene said they will take those ideas to the local steering committee with the help of the D&L, and create a work plan from those.

The D&L has some funds that it can put toward trying to implement some of those plans, Greene said.

“We are super thankful for the borough of Lehighton,” he said. “They do great job of taking care of it.”

Greene cited the many activities the borough has in place, such as the Lehighton Downtown Initiative Farmers Market and the Lehighton Outdoor Center.

“There seems to be a lot of energy in Lehighton, a lot of excitement,” he said. “We’re really hoping to take it to the next level.”