Lower Makefield and Yardley work together for “beautiful” connectivity of walkways

If grants from the state come through, more residents of Lower Makefield and Yardley Borough will find it easier to walk safely to the borough’s many shops and restaurants.

The two municipalities have applied for grants to continue a new sidewalk on Yardley’s North Main Street into Lower Makefield along Taylorsville Road from McKinley Avenue to Highland Drive.

And Yardley also wants to put a sidewalk on Dolington Road to connect the bike path on Lower Makefield’s section of Dolington Road to Taylorsville Road where the new sidewalk is planned. Storm sewer drainage will also be improved in both municipalities as part of the grant applications.

The combined projects will connect “thousands of residents to Yardley.”

“This is a beautiful thing,” said Yardley Councilman Uri Feiner, chair of the borough’s Public Works Committee. “A huge win for the residents.”

Lower Makefield is seeking a state grant for $2.5 million to install the 1,800 feet of sidewalk along Taylorsville as well as make stormwater drainage improvements there. That section of the road experienced major flooding that also affected the adjacent Maplevale neighborhood during the July 15, 2023 storm that killed seven people in Upper Makefield last summer.

Lower Makefield Supervisor Matthew Ross said the township has already started the engineering work for the project and hopes to receive the grant this fall so construction can begin in the spring.

“It’s great for connectivity and great for stormwater management for the Maplevale area,” he said. And trail access will be included to connect the sidewalk on Taylorsville to the Sommers footbridge at the Delaware Canal and the trail there. Yardley Council last week approved an application for a state grant of $278,712 to install the sidewalk on 400 feet of Dolington Road. The borough already is working on the sidewalk extensions on North Main Street.

“So many residents have been asking for better walkability and pedestrian safety for so long that it’s an honor to work on actually delivering it,” Feiner said. He thanked state Sen. Steve Santarsiero and state Rep. Perry Warren, for their support for the projects affecting their constituents.

Lower Makefield Director of Community Development Jim Majewski said the two municipalities were “cooperating together – it’s good for both.”

The state grants being applied for would fully fund the new projects and are administered jointly as part of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation’s Multimodal Transportation Fund and the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

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