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The D&L Blog

Delaware & Lehigh - LINKing Lehigh Valley trails to economic development
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By Claire Sadler, Deputy Director

At the D&L, we like to refer to the D&L Trail as the spine of the five-county corridor. In each of the regions, a network of trails and communities connect to and branch out from the spine. Altogether, this applies to the Anthracite Region (Carbon and Luzerne counties) and Delaware Canal Region (Bucks County). However, this analogy probably proves most evident in the Lehigh Valley Region (Lehigh and Northampton counties).

When people look at the networks of trails, the first thing that comes to mind is the outdoor recreation. After then, people think of exercise opportunities and connections to nature. Conversely, take a second to consider how trails relate to the economy. It might be surprising how many connections you can list: overnight accommodations, bike shops, running stores, outfitters, coffee shops, restaurants, breweries, real estate . . and so much more. All of which mutually benefit from being near a trail.

Recently, I was interviewed by Stacy Wescoe with PA Biz Conversations to talk about how THE LINK, Lehigh Valley’s growing multi-use trail network, relates to business and the economy. We appreciate Stacy and PA Biz recognizing that trails mean business and recording this interview with us!

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