NARBERTH — Consultants for Narberth Borough have begun developing a master plan for three park sites in the borough.
Recently, borough officials held a public meeting with its consultant, Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, to begin creating the master plan.
“Narberth Borough envisions a Narberth Parks Plan that strengthens the Narberth community, provides quality experience for residents and park users of all ages and abilities, and promotes pedestrian connectivity, active living, recreational opportunities, climate resilience and environmental health and sustainability for three park sites: Narberth Park, the newly acquired Elm Grove Park and Station Square,” said Anita Nardone, project manager with Simone Collins Landscape Architecture.
Michelle Armour, staff landscape architect from Simone Collins, said they took tours of the three parks in early April.
At Narberth Park, Armour said the only walkway connects the library to the playground, so they’d like to consider other areas for walkway connections.
Armour said they also looked at Narberth Park’s adjoining sidewalks along the roads surrounding the park. They also looked at Indian Creek, that runs under the park, and the street crossings between the park and the Maybrook property. Another important issue is the crossing leading to the tunnel to East Wynnewood Road. She noted how narrow the walkway through the tunnel is.
Armour then mentioned the borough’s newly acquired Elm Grove Park, the area along East Wynnewood Road just outside the Narberth tunnel.
According to Armour, the borough has already removed many invasive plants from the park site.
The third site that will be included in the master plan is Station Square at the Narberth Train Station.
Images shown from Station Square included pictures of the pedestrian tunnel and the sidewalk along Elmwood Avenue.
According to information on the Narberth’s website, the Borough intends to develop a separate park plan for a fourth site, Sabine Park, later.
Among the possible funding partners they could look for include the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Montgomery County and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development — funds greenway connections.
Resident Peter Grove suggested a new and safer way for pedestrians to get from Narberth’s new Elm Grove Park to Narberth Park.
“It would take some capital outlay, but could you look into the idea of linking Elm Grove Park to Narberth Park,” Grove proposed. “There is a tunnel where the stream goes through. Could there, in time to come, be a catwalk that goes through there so that the people from South Narberth won’t just have that two-acre park, but they have a much safer way to reach the main park without that narrow pathway going through the North Wynnewood [Avenue] tunnel which is dangerous.”
Under an anticipated schedule, they plan on conducting key interviews from June through September, holding a stakeholder meeting in September, presenting a draft master parks plan and then a public meeting in October, and finally presenting the Master plan review with the borough council in November.
