Streetscape Enhancements
Wesley Plaza
Glenside Commercial District Enhancements
Elkins Park East
Enhancements
Banners & Way-Finding Signs
Hit the Bricks!
A capital project has introduced banners and way-finding signs into the
areas Glenside commercial district. Both attractive and practical, the
directional signs point drivers to parking lots and other local sites of
interest, while the “Downtown Glenside” banners help establish a sense of
the district’s identity.
Between Mt. Carmel Avenue and Springhouse Lane, ornamental streetlights, hanging baskets, decorative sidewalk pavers, granite curbing, attractive crosswalks, benches and more embellish Downtown Glenside. Many of the pedestrian-oriented and traffic-calming changes mimic the improvements that transformed Wesley Plaza into a perfect venue for special events three years ago.
The Township secured $1,740,000 in community revitalization and transportation grants from Montgomery County and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to fund the Glenside enhancements. Another $1.4 million PennDOT grant will extend the improvements from Springhouse Lane to Arcadia University in 2010.
Meanwhile, planning is well underway for the next enhancement project, which involves the Elkins Park East Commercial District, the area near the Elkins Park Train Station. Design plans and construction documents arte completed. The Township will use the plans to seek grant funding to implement the project.
Pedestrian-friendly streetscape enhancements are a proven strategy for attracting shoppers and compatible new shops and other businesses to support healthy commercial districts, a key component for economic development. Ultimately, the Township intends to renovate all five neighborhood commercial districts in the community, as funding become available. A thriving business base, in turn, promotes a healthy community and reduces reliance on residential taxes.
Do you want
to be immortalized in stone? Would you like to plant roots in the community
that will grow for decades to come? You can make a lasting contribution
through the new “Hit the Bricks!” program offered by Cheltenham Township
Main Street.
As part of the Glenside commercial district economic development
initiative, residents, business people and all other community-minded
individuals can help make over Easton Road between Glenside Avenue and
Waverly Road. For a donation of $100, you can have a three-line message
engraved in a Coventry-style brick that will make up the new sidewalks.
Your name and a two-line message would appear on a plaque on an attractive
new bench for a $500 donation. For $700, a plaque with a two-line message
would appear on a new street tree planted along Easton Road. Bricks are
plentiful, but only a limited number of benches and trees are available.
Cheltenham Township recently completed a similar streetscape
enhancement project that transformed Wesley Plaza, located off Easton Road,
into a beautiful venue for special events. The next phase continues many
improvements, including decorative streetlights with hanging flower baskets
or banners, down Easton Road. The township has secured grants to fund the
majority of the projects, but additional money is still needed to complete
the streetscape enhancements envisioned in the township’s Commercial
District Enhancement Plan.
Order forms for the “Hit the Bricks!” program are available from the
Cheltenham Township Main Street Manager at 215-887-6200, ext. 113 and
online.
