The Capital Area Greenbelt Association appreciates more than a decade of support from Josiah W. & Bessie H. Kline Foundation. We embarked on a vision to restore the Paxtang Parkway trail and stream in 2011, the parkway borders Kline Plaza. Together with the City of Harrisburg we have raised over six million dollars, enough to complete the project in 2027.
Kline Foundation grants at crucial times helped make all this possible, but no more than the first grant of $25,000 in 2013. The grant provided more than half of the matching funds for PA-DEP grants used to restore over 800 feet of stream bank where erosion was threatening the trail surfaces at three locations.
Kline Plaza was expanded for Giant Foods in 2000, and impacted the parkway at two locations, a stormwater outlet and a sanitary sewer encasement. Our first project included the reconstruction of the degraded stormwater outlet from its fifteen impervious acres. The original plans included a new sanitary sewer line downstream, but the sanitary sewer was reconnected to the original line. Another project is removing the encasement from 1950, and burying the line under the stream.
All of this restoration work has to be designed, permitted, and constructed, these activities occurred in seven major phases. We’ve raised about a half a million dollars locally with the remainder from PA State agencies, six from DEP, four from DCNR and two from PennDOT.
That first grant really jump started the entire restoration, and we are eternally grateful for it and the additional grants from the Kline Foundation.