Danville Riverfront Plan


 

The Danville Riverfront Master Plan project was financed in part by a grant from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program, Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund, under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation (BRC-TAG-13.6-598).  Additional funding for this project was provided by: Montour County, Danville Borough, Cherokee Pharmaceuticals and the Montour Area Recreation Commission, with the support of the SEDA-Council of Governments and the Susquehanna Greenway Partnership.

 

The Danville Riverfront Master Plan Study Committee

Amanda Boyer
Jake Decoteau
Dave Decoteau
Wes Fahringer
Commissioner Jack Gerst
Betsy Hack
Helen ‘Sis’ Hause
Bill Hause

Steve Herman
Bryan Holmes
Kay Jones
Tim Karr
Jean Knouse
Mike Maize
Dr. Matt McElroy

Greg Molter
Justin Noll
Harriett Perez
Bob Stoudt
Jeff Tiesi
Commissioner Jerry Ward
Jim Wilson

SEDA-COG team

Brian Auman
Tom Grbenick
Kathy Hannaford
Margie Swartzlander
Adam Wynn

Danville Riverfront Master Plan Report – Executive Summary

The Susquehanna River is an underutilized and underappreciated resource, offering a great opportunity to revitalize the river towns of the Middle Susquehanna Region. The Susquehanna River flows through the historic towns and scenic landscapes in the heartland of Pennsylvania and the Susquehanna Greenway celebrates the river as a place of timeless value and shared memories. The Susquehanna Greenway is a catalyst for healthy and successful communities. The Danville Riverfront plan seeks to clearly define Danville as the hub of greenway activity on the lower North Branch Susquehanna River.

The Montour Area Recreation Commission (MARC) seeks to establish the county as the “Healthiest Place in PA” through a combination of recreation development and programming. The Danville Riverfront project is a logical follow up to the North Branch Canal Trail Feasibility Study and the Survey of the North Branch Canal Trail Corridor. The previous study and property survey did not define a clear connection between the North Branch Canal Trail regional trail and Danville’s downtown and neighborhoods. To take maximum advantage of the evolving North Branch Canal Trail, the trail needed to link into the community – connecting to downtown businesses and the neighborhoods where people live.

A diverse project Study Committee was formed in the summer of 2010, to oversee the development of the Danville Riverfront plan. The first meeting of the Study Committee was in August 2010 and the group’s first activity was to map key community destinations – including the downtown, schools, major employers such as Geisinger and Cherokee Pharmaceuticals, Recreational Destinations such as the Danville Area Community Center, Hess Field, Danville Soccer Park, F.Q. Hartman Field and Danville’s Riverfront Park. The Study Committee then discussed the best routes and options to create pedestrian and bicycle connections between these key community resources. Routes and alternative routes were drawn, but it was soon evident that some field work was required to fully explore the options.

In September 2010 the Study Committee organized a tour of the Danville Riverfront study area, to better familiarize itself with the resources, opportunities and challenges to creating a contiguous riverfront park and trail system. The tour started at F.Q. Hartman Field and ended at the Danville Soccer Park. A dozen committee members participated in the tour and along the way where conditions were analyzed and ideas discussed. Topics such as the best route for the trail, trail surface, trail amenities, downtown and neighborhood access, street crossings, park design and user safety were discussed.

From the thoughts generated at the Riverfront Tour, along with additional site visits and GIS mapping, the Danville Connectivity Plan emerged.

The plan proposes to interconnect the greater Danville area with safe walking and biking routes. The plan identifies the route for a riverfront trail system linking F.Q. Hartman Field with the Danville Soccer Park and the proposed North Branch Canal Trail. In addition, the connectivity plan addresses how to connect the growing school campus with the downtown and how to connect to Hess Field recreational area.

 

REPORT DOWNLOADS

 

To download the Danville Riverfront Master Plan report, please click here NOTE: the file size is very large (123MB).

To download the River Front Park master site plan, please click here (5MB).

To download the Danville Soccer Park Trailhead master site plan, please click here (17MB).

To download the Levee Trail Neighborhood Gateway master site plan, please click here (7MB).

To download the PA-54 Gateway master site plan, please click here (3MB).

 

To learn more about the Danville Riverfront Master Plan, please contact Bob Stoudt, MARC Director, at (570) 336-2060 or RStoudt@MontourRec.com.