Currently viewing the tag: "Trolley Trail"

Love your Thurmont community? Help to maintain the beauty of the Thurmont Trolley Trail by adopting one of the available garden plots. There are several garden plots available for you, your group, or business. Responsibilities include weeding, mulching, and maintaining the existing plants in your garden, so it looks its best year-round. Many plots have native plants, and new pollinator friendly plants can be added. You will have a sign with your name on it for the garden you adopt! For more information or questions contact the Thurmont Green Team at  ThurmontGreen@gmail.com

The Town of Thurmont is partnering with the Catoctin Mountain Park on the Gateway Trail project. The Gateway Trail links the Thurmont Memorial Park, the Trolley Trail, and the Thurmont Community Park to the trailhead located at the Lewis Area on West Main Street. Until further acquisition can be obtained by the Town of Thurmont, the current Gateway Trail alignment starts at the Trolley Trail to the east and the Community Park to the south. From those two points, the alignment turns north onto South Altamont Avenue and then turns west on West Main Street, eventually linking to the Lewis Area of Catoctin Mountain Park, just west of Route 15. The trail from the Lewis Area then connects hikers to scenic Chimney Rock.

Thurmont Public Works crews installed Gateway Trail signs identifying this route. This project creates a wonderful connection between the park and Thurmont. Thanks to Main Street Manager Vickie Grinder, former Catoctin Mountain Park Superintendent Mel Poole, and current Park Superintendent Rick Slade for spearheading this project.

Deb Spalding

A celebration for the completion of the Thurmont Downtown Revitalization Project was held on Thursday December 3, 2015, in the Thurmont Main Street Center on Water Street in Thurmont. Those who had a hand in any aspect of the new street lights or new sidewalks in Thurmont were invited to attend and celebrate a job well done.

With welcoming remarks and gracious thanks to all involved, Thurmont Mayor John Kinnaird said, “I personally thank everyone involved with the renovation of our sidewalks and street lights: our town staff, the state for helping us out with grants, the concrete company, Catoctin Lighting, and everyone who came together to give us a fantastic finished product. I appreciate it.” He added, “There’s one person that I want to thank most of all for this project, and that is Jim Humerick (Thurmont’s Chief Administrative Officer)…without Jim…we wouldn’t have the product we have right now.”

Humerick introduced those involved: Mayor John Kinnaird; Commissioner Marty Burns; Roger Wilson from the County Executive’s Office; Jim Castle from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development; Lt. Alan Droneburg from the Thurmont Police Department; Thurmont Commissioner Wes Hamrick; John Brown with the Main Street Board of Directors; Jim and Alison Richards with Catoctin Lighting (and the hosts who supplied the snacks and drinks for the evening); Tony Romano from Romano Concrete Construction; CJ Holtzople; the guys that did the work, including foreman Noel Alvarado, Juan Gonzalez, Michael Buchalter, Efrain Cabrera, Baltazar Calderon, Walter Canales, Daniel Dominguez, Marley Guzman, Marle Guzman, Esbin Isque, Josue Macario, Francisco Montoya, Jose Navareta, Jason Spear, and Pedro Ventura. Town staff included Butch West, Harold Lawson, Lee Hanvey, Lynn Bass, Kelly Duty, Debbie Ecker, Thurmont Main Street President Mike Hobbs, and Thurmont Main Street Manager Vickie Grinder.

The actual work for the project began in July of 2014 after Grinder called the State Highway Administration to request a new cross walk at the Trolley Trail. Through this inquiry, they were surprised to learn that new sidewalks on East Main Street and West Main Street were soon to be installed by the State Highway Administration. It was going to happen within months. This plan included sidewalks from Lawyer Lane to Route 15.

Soon the town was also informed that the sidewalks on North Church Street were being redone as well, and the State Highway Administration was picking up the tab for everything.

Thurmont’s Board of Commissioners had been discussing new amenities and street lights in the downtown area for several years. They thought that the best time to install these was when the sidewalks were torn up from the sidewalk project. So, they met with Catoctin Lighting to review options for street lighting. They picked a light, but then had to figure out who was going to pay for it and what it was going to cost. The mayor’s repetitive answer was, “Our CAO will find a grant.” Humerick and Becky Long reached out to the Maryland Energy Administration and were approved for $26,800 for the project.

The Town’s Public Works crews worked closely with the concrete construction. They worked well with Romano Concrete Construction. Romano’s foreman Noel Alvarado said, “The town has been great to work for. We really enjoyed working in Thurmont.”

Humerick continued, “Since we replaced everything else, we even repainted the parking meters.” He noted, “Vickie Grinder (Thurmont’s Main Street Manager) got this all started. She made the initial phone call to John Gober. She got the grants for the new benches, trash cans, and bike racks.”

To this point, the State Highway had paid for seventy-five percent of the sidewalk revitalization. The remaining Water Street section was left out, with no funding at that point. The mayor and commissioners voted unanimously to go forward with the Water Street section. Again, the mayor said, “Get a grant.” Humerick and Becky Long went to work again. Within a short amount of time, a Community Development Block Grant through the Maryland State Department of Housing was secured in the amount of $125,000 for the Water Street renovations.

Jim Castle with the Maryland State Department of Housing and Community Development said, “The reason we fund Thurmont is because, number one, you apply for projects which are a need to your community, they’re a reasonable amount of money, and you do good work. Those are the grantees that we like to keep helping.”

Thurmont Commissioner Marty Burns expressed his pride in the town and the town staff and the elected officials. He said, “It shows people that the elected officials get it. We want to make it better and we’re doing everything in our power to try to make it better for the entire community. Job well done.”

Thurmont Commissioner Hamrick said, “I think this is the first time, ever, that we’ve had a unified sidewalk. Before, you’d be walking along and hit a patch that was forty years old then a patch that was eighty years old…great job to everyone.”

Humerick wrapped up by offering a big thanks to the residents and businesses in Thurmont. The vast majority were very tolerant and positive through the whole project. “We apologize for any inconvenience, but look at what we’ve got now! The results are wonderful.”

town tmont celeb

Those involved with the Thurmont Downtown Revitalization Project are pictured during a celebration held in the  Thurmont Main Street Center on December 3, 2015.

James Rada, Jr.

You may notice some new road signs in Thurmont indicating that you are on The Gateway Trail.

The signs were approved by the Thurmont Mayor and Board of Commissioners in January, as a way to start promoting the new hiking and biking trail before the weather turns warm.

Thurmont Main Street Manager Vickie Grinder told the commissioners that the idea was “to create a buzz” about the trail.

In 2012, Catoctin Mountain Park had nearly 250,000 visitors, but only a small portion of those visitors extended their visit into Thurmont, according to Grinder. She believes that The Gateway Trail will help encourage visitors to come into town after their visit to the park.

The trail begins at the Trolley Trail in town. From Memorial Park, it runs along Park Lane to Frederick Road to South Altamont and west along West Main Street. At that point, the trail will tie in with a trail that the National Park Service is developing down to the Lewis Property. Once complete, visitors will be able to hike from Thurmont up onto Catoctin Mountain and back.

Eventually, the goal is to run the trail through Community Park and build a bridge at the back of the park that crosses the highway and ties into the Lewis Property from that direction.

The mayor and commissioners approved $350 for up to twelve signs to mark the trail. This would allow people to start using the trail this season. Grinder said that it would put the trail “on the map” for possible funding for trail improvements next year.

“This can work,” Grinder told the commissioners. “It will work. It is just going to take a concerted effort by all parties.”