The Borough of Atglen PA, a small municipality located in the semi-rural region of western Chester County, was awarded a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources to conduct a planning and design study for four open-space parcels in Atglen. SALT was hired to lead the planning, design, and community engagement process to develop Master Park Site Development Plans for each parcel. The planning process included community meetings, study committee meetings and stakeholder interviews facilitated by SALT to solicit input on recreational needs and design preferences. As the COVID-19 situation was unfolding, SALT developed new community engagement tools to ensure the safety of all community members, including outdoor Open Houses, as well as online tools and surveys. Highlights of proposed park improvements:

Valley Avenue: Creates a destination park in the Borough that offers regulation sports fields, dog park, fitness trail, trailhead and restroom pavilion, bike pump track, and other active recreational amenities; as well as restoring the riparian corridor and wet meadow as an environmental, educational, and passive-recreation component.

Church Street Park: Revitalizes Church Street Park as a welcoming community and event space that includes a picnic pavilion, multi-purpose recreational lawn with loop walking path, nature-play and traditional playground, entrance plaza, and ecological stormwater management.

Borough Hall: Establishes a new gateway to Atglen with a trailhead and pedestrian connection to the future Chester Valley Trail extension/Enola Low Grade Trail along the rail corridor, and a new playground.

206 Main Street: Reinvigorates new energy and activity in the downtown core through the creation of a lively pocket park, replete with seating, native plantings, a spray-ground, and concessions stand.

Collaborators: BL Companies