Officials and consultants working on Upper Providence Township's trail master plan told residents Tuesday that no trail will be recommended through the Regency at Providence community, addressing the central concern of a crowd of about 150 people, the majority of whom live in the 55-and-over neighborhood.
The assurance came during a trail master plan workshop at the township building, the second public session in a study that began in May. Bob Thomas, a partner at Campbell Thomas & Co., the firm hired as consultant, said the plan is prioritizing improving pedestrian and bicycle connections related to major roads rather than routes inside residential communities.
"If you don't want to see a trail in any of the Regency clusters, if you don't want something next to you, it won't happen," Thomas said, drawing applause from the crowd.
Thomas noted that he had received development plans from Toll Brothers to confirm the Regency community's boundaries. He said his firm would not recommend anything that would compromise residents' sense of privacy or sense of safety.
Geoff Grace, the township's director of planning and zoning, was direct with residents who pressed the point.
"We're not going to recommend trails be put in connecting your development to any other development or to any other trail within the township," Grace said. He added that the trail concepts that had raised concerns among residents have existed in planning documents for more than 20 years without ever being funded or approved.
Concerns From Regency at Providence
The workshop followed weeks of opposition from Regency at Providence residents, who told the board of supervisors earlier this month that a trail could threaten safety, health, and the environment in a neighborhood with more than 330 driveways and an average resident age above 70. Some pointed to fast-moving e-bikes and cited a petition signed by 90 percent of neighbors opposing the possibility of a trail.
While a trail through Regency at Providence will not be proposed, Grace told the crowd that connected trails remain important to many residents in the Upper Providence community.
"All of your trails are off the table," he emphasized, while asking attendees to help identify trail needs elsewhere in the township during the workshop.
Next Steps
Thomas said no maps or trail lines have been drawn in the current round of work. The firm has inventoried main roads throughout Upper Providence, breaking them into roughly 400 segments to assess width, right-of-way, and existing sidewalks or trails.
Steve Spindler, the project's map designer, also presented an online tool called WikiMapping, which allows residents to mark comments on a map remotely via the township's website.
Thomas said a first draft of initial findings would be presented at a public session in September, with a draft report of recommendations expected in November and the plan completed in early 2027.
After the initial presentation and assurance that no trail would go through the Regency at Providence neighborhood, most attendees left Tuesday'a meeting. About 25 people remained to participate in the workshop, sharing ideas and providing feedback to the consultants for the general trail master plan.
