North Franklin’s Upcoming Waterside Park

345 Franklin Farms Road, Washington, PA 15301 – Map

The Township is working with Port Urbanism to reshape the future of North Franklin. This is the Waterside Park, a grant-funded project that will create a community greenspace for residents.

Overview

This project makes use of 89 acres of greenspace, including two reservoirs and a section of Chartiers Creek. The expansive Waterside Park will serve as a community center for North Franklin Township, providing recreational activities, event spaces, and educational opportunities.

Recreational spaces include fishing spots, pickleball courts, multiple trails, a kayak launch, and playgrounds. The park will also provide spaces for event-planners, much like the pavilions at North Franklin Township Park. Learning spaces along the trails and a community classroom will teach park-goers about the natural landscape of Chartiers Creek.

As well as these services to Township residents, the Waterside Park will preserve the natural landscape along Chartiers Creek. The park will also connect residents to the history of Washington. The park will serve as a link to the township’s past with the renovation of the historical Water Filter Building. Created in the late nineteenth century, the Water Filter Building provided water to the growing city of Washington.

The Water Filter building and pavilions of the North Anchor will provide residents with meeting spaces. There will also be community rooms within the municipal building open to residents.

Sections

The Waterside Park can be broken down into multiple distinct sections.

North Anchor

The North Anchor will serve as the new civic center of North Franklin Township. Due to this, the North Anchor will be the location of the Township’s new municipal building. The Water Filter Building and pavilions will serve as spaces for community events throughout much of the year as well.

Both reservoirs will be distinctive features of the park. Reservoir #1 will serve as a Nature Pond, and Reservoir #2 will be a Recreational Pond equipped with a kayak launch. As well as the kayak launch, three pickle ball courts and a community playground will be sources of recreation within the North Anchor.

South Anchor

The South Anchor will be the “Community Classroom” of the park. This section’s entrance will be along PA Route 18 across from nearby Trinity Middle School.

Its title as the “Community Classroom” doesn’t only come from its location, though. The South Anchor will include a Nature-themed adventure playground, outdoor classroom and lab, and a watershed education zone for students.

As well as this, the South Anchor includes other features such as a hillside bike loop, woodland hiking trail, and walkable sedimentation ridge. These features make the Southern Anchor enjoyable for all ages, and will provide multiple nature-based learning opportunities previously inaccessible for many residents.

Circulation Systems

Many natural trails and circuits will be located within the Waterside Park.

The most important of these trails is the Greenway connecting the North Anchor to the South Anchor. This path cuts between the two reservoirs of the North Anchor and crosses Chartiers creek to reach the South Anchor. The path is broken up into railed sections, wetland boardwalks, and typical greenways. The entirety of the Greenway is ADA accessible.

Other trails branch off from the Greenway, offering recreational opportunities. These include the wetland overlook, creek platforms, creek put-down, woodland picnic areas, and bike features. Play areas in the nearby creek and along the southern hillside will provide recreational opportunities for children.