(2/18) Emmitsburg multi-user trail receives extension

During the February town meeting Commissioner President Tim O’Donnell briefed the Emmitsburg Board of Commissioners on the progress of the upcoming trail expansion of the Emmitsburg multi-user trail.

A year and a half ago, in May of 2016, Emmitsburg received a $30,000 state grant, which was originally accepted to fund additional signage throughout the town’s multi-user trail system, additional parking, as well as the construction of another trail. However, the trail grant was later modified through the Trail Conservancy and State Highway Administration and the monies will now be entirely used for the construction of an expansion upon one of the existing trails.

O’Donnell noted that they are looking to modify one of the existing trails by adding to it in order to, hopefully, make the trail easier to access from one end to the other. The trail being modified is the orange trail (on the trail map), which leads from the closest point in town at Annadale Road, crosses Crystal Fountain Road, and comes out close to Rainbow Lake. The current trail is hard to manage and more difficult, which may turn some hikers off from using it, so the hope would be to allow it to be more accessible to a larger range of people.

The current trail system consists of five trails of varying degrees of difficulty for both hikers and bikers. A number of these trails were paid for with the help of the Trail Conservancy, and dedicated volunteers help maintain these trails during trail cleaning days throughout the year.

In order to proceed with the trail expansion, the Trail Conservancy asked for permission to flag the potential route. The Board unanimously accepted the trail flagging. More information regarding trail construction will come in the future, closer to the spring.

Transportation initiatives update

Kendall Tiffany, the Community Relations Manager for TransIT, provided an update on the public transportation services available for all Emmitsburg residents.

Currently, Emmitsburg residents have the ability to take advantage of the many services offered by Frederick County TransIT. Public transportation (buses), Para transit (for seniors and/or disabled residents), and commuter services are all available. There is an abundance of connector routes that run throughout Frederick County that re accessible to residents using TransIT.

As part of this public transport system, TransIT recently started piloting a midday trip, as requested by the public and town of Thurmont. So far, Kendall noted that there is a lack of participation from Emmitsburg residents for the midday trip, and in order to keep this trip and potentially add additional afternoon trips, more people need to begin showing interest. The Emmitsburg shuttle that runs through Thurmont into Frederick city also runs once in the morning and then returns in the evening.

For any residents interested in learning more about what transportation services are available to them, information can be accessed at the town office, on the town’s website or online at www.FrederickCountyMD.gov/TransIT.