Sep 27, 2014 2 min read

In what one official described as “an important day for North Franklin Township,” an extension of the walking trail the township maintains adjacent to Consol Energy Park was officially opened Saturday afternoon.

The 2,300-foot extension means the trail is now a continuous loop; before, walkers strolled into a dead-end and had to traverse the same territory to get back to where they started.

A continuous loop “is something we’ve all been working toward,” said Leo Trich, a member of the township’s recreation and business improvement authority. All told, the trail is now a little over 1 mile and takes walkers through wooded areas situated a stone’s throw from offices and restaurants nearby and a baseball field used by Washington & Jefferson College.

The property was purchased four years ago from Baseball Scholarships Inc. The first two phases of the park’s development included the shorter version of the trail, along with a playground and a pavilion, with most of the $400,000 cost being covered by a $400,000 grant from the commonwealth’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

The newlyextended trail will serve as the host site for the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” walk Oct. 18. Registration will get under way at 8:30 a.m. that day with the walk scheduled to start at 10 a.m.

Information is available at makingstrides.acsevents.org.

“The trail is going to be such a nice addition to the event,” said Margie Smith, a community events specialist for the American Cancer Society.