CAPITAL AREA GREENBELT:
PAXTANG PARKWAY RESTORATION
A new and improved Paxtang Parkway is coming soon to the Capital Area Greenbelt, thanks to a partnership with the City and Capital Area Greenbelt Association (CAGA),
and generous funding from Commonwealth of Pennsylvania agencies and others.
Paxtang Parkway Restoration Project
The Paxtang Parkway is one of the forested legs of the Greenbelt. The 1.2-mile Paxtang Parkway parallels the Parkway Creek through a long-preserved wooded valley. The trail was once a scenic vehicle route when it was built in the early 1900s, but today this segment is an off-road transportation link that is reserved exclusively for use by pedestrians and cyclists.
Problem: The parkway trail is over a century old. Trail culverts and piping were constructed when farmland surrounded the Parkway. Increased storm intensity and elevated runoff volumes from development cause serious stream erosion throughout the Paxtang Parkway. Erosion and flooding threaten to wash out the Parkway Trail, expose sanitary sewers embedded below the trail, and rupture the sewer encasements crossing the stream.
Solution Accomplished
The trail surface is deteriorating requiring trail users be attentive to avoid degenerating areas. Accelerated erosion of the stream banks is releasing large quantities of sediment, threatening the downstream health of Spring Creek, which supports a wild trout population and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.
Parkway Restoration Plans
Learn more about the plans created to date by clicking on each section below.
- Paxtang Parkway Phasing Map
- Parkway Trail Improvements Abbreviations Plan containing site and detour plans, 5 Pages
- Parkway Trail Improvements Plan containing the plan in its entirety, 35 Pages
- Parkway Creek Watershed Plan containing the plan in its entirity, 74 Pages
- Paxtang Parkway Restoration containing changes to the 2015 version, 35 Pages
- Paxtang Parkway Restoration 2015 Phasing Plan containing the original vision for the project, 5 pages
Phone
Related Pages
Solutions: Starting Summer 2025
Trail Diet:
The trail will be narrowed from its current +/- 20-foot width to a 12-foot wide meandering natural path.
The 1.2- mile trail surface will be restored and repaved with smooth asphalt.
Sewer Repairs:
Two sanitary sewer encasements are used as de facto pedestrian bridges. They offer risky stream crossings and will likely rupture soon and discharge sewage into the stream. The sewer infrastructures will be relocated under the streambed and a new pedestrian bridge will provide safe passage for hikers and cyclists..
Sponsors and Partners
The City of Harrisburg and Capital Area Greenbelt Association extend our sincerest thanks to the primary contributors whose substantial funding has been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition.
Funding for this overall $ 6M project was generously provided by PennDOT, the PA Department of Environmental Protection, the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Kline, McCormick and Stabler Foundations, the City of Harrisburg, Lancaster County Solid Waste Management Authority, Chesapeake Bay Trust, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Scottsdale Apartments, Dauphin County Gaming and the Susquehanna Area Mountain Biking Association (SAMBA).
The City wishes to recognize with gratitude the unwavering dedication of CAGA to enhancing the Greenbelt and ensuring that this vital greenspace remains available to all.