Pitt-Johnstown's community initiative REACHLand (Recreational opportunities, Environmental sustainability, Academic institutions (linking K-16), Commercial district, and Healthy-Living) Connect, is a multi-phase project that will link campus and community with culture and commerce by way of sidewalks and bike paths.
"We believe the University and the Community are inextricably tied together, their fortunes rising or falling with the tides; their harvest a bounty of hopes and dreams realized," said Pitt-Johnstown President Jem Spectar.
REACHLand Connect includes a 2,150-foot paved bike path along with 3,400 feet of sidewalk.
The first phase will connect Pitt-Johnstown, Pitt-Johnstown's College Park Apartments, Penn Highlands Community College, Richland School District, Highland Community Library, Richland Township Municipal Building, and the Richland Town Centre.
The paved and lighted paths will allow residents and visitors alike to walk, run, cycle, rollerblade, or simply stroll and enjoy the education placards along the way.
ADA crosswalks and access points will encourage people of all ages, experience and fitness levels to participate.
Donor-sponsored benches and picnic areas will be located along the path.
A groundbreaking event took place May 17, 2018, at the Richland Town Centre parking lot's Eisenhower Blvd. entrance near Panera Bread.
Pitt-Johnstown received a $500,000 grant from the Department of Transportation in February 2018 to fund construction that will connect the campus and education corridor to the nearby Richland Town Centre.
