Last month, the Pine Creek Rail-Trail grew by eight miles as the fourth phase on the northern end was opened. The newest section, from Ansonia to Stokesdale, brings the trail to within four miles of Wellsboro.
Local officials and hiking fans watched as Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Michael DiBerardinis did the ribbon-cutting thing on September 12 at the new trailhead, which has portable toilets and parking for fifteen vehicles. 

The sixty-two-mile trail, which begins—or ends—in Jersey Shore in Lycoming County, has cost $7.5 million so far, but a recent study estimates that visiting hikers, bikers, and cross-county skiers put $5.5 million a year into local economies.

Good news; however, the next phase may be very pricey. A design study includes a bridge that would carry folks over State Route 287 and right into Wellsboro where they can reprovision with Gatorade, moleskin, and Ben-Gay. There’s no doubt the four-mile extension would be great for the borough’s economy, but the $7 million price tag gave DiBerardinis sticker shock.

The Williamsport Sun-Gazette reported that the DCNR secretary is thinking about a more economical plan to get people across Route 287, which, while practical, isn’t quite as cool and dramatic-looking as a “Jiffy Loop” bridge, so-called by Pine Creek Rail Trail committee member Grant Cavanaugh because of its long, curving approaches.

“I was thinking more of a crosswalk and a traffic light with a button you could push to cross safely,” DiBerardinis told a Sun-Gazette reporter.

Why not crossing guards with those goofy white shoulder harnesses? Jeez, Mr. Secretary, get with the program. What good are design studies if you can’t build really neat, expensive stuff at the taxpayers’ expense?