The Blairsville, PA Your Town workshop was a joint effort, benefiting from a terrific group of contributing organizations, including the Blairsville Improvement Group (BIG), National Park Service Rivers and Trails Program, Indiana County Office of Planning and Development, and the PA/Delaware Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects.

Ed McMahon, of the Urban Land Institute, and Tom Horsch, Adventure Damascus, Inc., and Sun Dog Outfitters, gave the keynote addresses. Mr. Horsch gave an insightful talk on the economic impacts of recreational trails on local economics.The workshop focused on the design issues associated with community gateways and wayfinding, rediscovering and reconnecting the community with the Conemaugh River, and establishing a trail system.

As of 2011, Blairsville has secured funding to build a three-mile trail that will facilitate the connection of citizens and tourists to the stunning Conemaugh River.

-Excerpted from Your Town: Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design, Update, Fall, 2006

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