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Parking lot project delayed

Mon Jan 4, 2010 / Storm Water

Saturday, January 2, 2010 By Bradley Schlegel TOWAMENCIN — Completion of the parking lot expansion at Fischer's Park will have to wait until spring, according to township engineer Ross Benner. Grading and topographical issues have delayed completion of the lot. R.J. Sell Excavating Inc. should be able to complete the project by May, as required by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to Benner. A $281,000 environmental infrastructure grant, through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, is funding the project. Inaccuracies in existing topographical maps forced grading adjustments, according to Benner. He said those changes would be much cheaper than conducting a new survey. In November, supervisors Vice Chairman Tom Hollenbeck expressed optimism that the work could be completed before the township's Holiday Lights Festival earlier this month. Benner called Hollenbeck's estimate for completion, with the benefit of clear weather, realistic. Despite the need for additional curb work and stone purchase, the project is not expected to exceed its budget, according to Benner. A blacktop mixture will be poured and graded on top of two types of clean stones that will allow water to seep into the ground, according to R.J. Sell, president of the excavating company. It will add approximately 70 parking spaces. The new lot — with curbs and landscaping and covering 35,910 square feet — will include the implementation of additional infiltration beds and bio-retention basins to reduce the stormwater runoff of suspended solids, nitrates and phosphorous into Towamencin Creek, according to Sell. He said the amenities will also "energize the water table." Eventually, the lot will include more handicapped spots than required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, according to Hollenbeck. A similar lot was recently constructed at the Towamencin Pool, according to Benner. He said municipal officials prefer to use the pervious blacktop for lots with seasonal use since the application of salt and cinders for snow removal clog the pores. More expensive than traditional blacktop, the cost of the pervious surface is offset by the need to install fewer ancillary structures to retain stormwater runoff, according to Benner. A successful implementation of the Arneth Entertainment Center two years ago created the need to re-examine the parking capacity at Fischer's Park, according to Hollenbeck. He said an analysis of the park's master plan followed. Towamencin is one of two Montgomery County municipalities to earn an environmental infrastructure grant, according to Ford. He said 111 communities in 47 Pennsylvania counties received $355 million for green infrastructure, drinking water and wastewater projects.