PORTAGE —
The need for improved access to the borough, improved housing for all ages and a greater emphasis on property maintenance are just a few of the items that could improve the quality
of life for residents living in the Portage Area School District.
The loosely developed list is the first step for Portage and Cassandra boroughs and Portage Township as the municipalities head into an update of a long-range comprehensive plan – one leaders hope will be more than a document that collects dust.
“We want people to consider what would make the Portage area a better community,” said Rick Truscello, planning services manager with EADS of Altoona.
EADS has been contracted by the municipalities, all part of the Portage Regional Planning Commission, to undertake not only the updated comprehensive plan, but a separate recreation and open spaces plan and a feasibility study looking at development of a recreation trail from Portage to Martindale.
The recreation and open spaces plan will be handled as a separate document with portions inserted in the comprehensive plan.
It will look at current facilities including Crichton McCormick Park, and address what Truscello termed as “recreation opportunities and challenges.”
A look at the proposed trail, covering a four-mile stretch along an old railroad bed, starts in the center of Portage Borough and continues in the area of Route 164 through portions of Portage Township toward the Blue Knob area.
The feasibility study will necessitate community help with part of the task, looking at need and projected use.
“What are the numbers and who will use it? What are the costs?
“Of the three planning components, the trail plan is probably the most detailed,” Truscello said.
Nearly $100,000 to pay for the plans will come from three grants from the state Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
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