As June’s Great Outdoors Month begins to wane the William Penn Foundation reminds Bucks County residents that the local Circuit Trail system — a treasured county asset — could use some public support. What’s more, getting behind the cause takes only a mouse-click nomination of the Liberty Bell Trail to the Pa. Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) list.

The Bucks County effort seeks to augment the trail with an additional 2.53 miles to connect it from Fairview Avenue to Veterans Park. It’s part of the overall vision, a Quakertown-to-Norristown passageway for cyclists, runners, and walkers.

The advocate behind the request is Stuart Clarke, Watershed Protection Program Director, William Penn Foundation.

Clarke says current issues — ongoing COVID concerns, economic instability, political disruption — make the healthful, environmentally advantageous trails in Bucks County more valuable than ever.

And more worthwhile to support and expand.

That’s the role of federal transportation funds that are managed by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC).

The DVRPC prioritizes infrastructure spending through the Pa. Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). But for a route to make it onto the TIP list where it becomes eligible for DVRPC-guided federal finances, it must be nominated.

That’s Clarke’s public request. The deadline for doing so is Today, June 28, but fortunately, it’s an easy, online process.

The initiative applies to routes beyond Bucks County, should local nature lovers want to inspire out-of-county counterparts. Other Circuit Trail pieces needing TIP public advocacy are:

• 8.6 miles of the Chester Valley Trail Extension to Downingtown (Chester County)
• 1.88 miles of the East Coast Greenway in the City of Chester along SR 291 (Delaware County)
• 2.2 miles of the Germantown Pike Crossing along the Cross County Trail (Montgomery County)

Additional information is online.