Forfeited drug money to help improve Thun Trail safety | Berks Regional News

CUMRU TWP., Pa. — A cleanup is scheduled for this Saturday alongside a stretch of the Thun Path in Cumru Township. Officers are attempting to make that a part of the path safer after a bicycle owner was shot in December.

Organizers stated they’ve had a lot curiosity, they’ve needed to flip away volunteers away, however there’s nonetheless a variety of work forward.

“I believe it is superior,” stated Chip Hoffman, a bicycle owner who usually makes use of the Thun Path. “We’d like it to get extra folks out right here to make use of it. Will probably be lots safer.”

“The easiest way to maintain a path protected is to maintain it busy and to maintain lots of people on it,” stated Elaine Paul Schaeffer, government director of Schuylkill River Greenways, “and once you preserve it welcoming and alluring and busy and a spot you wish to go to, lots of people will come and it turns into protected.”

These adjustments embrace upgrades reminiscent of putting in safety cameras, fixing lights, including new indicators, and making the path extra user-friendly.

“And that is the purpose right here, and that is what folks wish to do, take a stroll on it,” Schaeffer stated, “and the extra those that do this, the safer it is going to be.”

However these upgrades will not come low-cost. They’re going to value greater than $100,000, and to this point, the group that oversees the path has had an amazing response.

So many individuals wish to pitch in to assist make the path safer, together with Berks County District Lawyer John Adams. He’s going to take nearly $50,000 from the county’s drug forfeiture fund to assist pay for the safety digicam system that will probably be alongside the path.

“Lots of people use this to go as much as Neversink, and we type of second guess it, like ought to we? however we should not need to, but it surely’s about time, I suppose,” stated Hoffman.

Some stated it is about time for folks to care about this path and step as much as assist.

If you would like extra details about the marketing campaign or if you would like to assist, simply go to the Schuylkill River Greenways’ website.