The connection trail construction for Harford County’s Ma and Pa is underway in Bel Air for the second of three segments. When finished, the second segment will stretch about a mile from the recently completed crosswalk on North Main Street in Bel Air and to the North Park Center offices off North Avenue. It is budgeted to cost about US$2.4 million according to a correspondent for Harford County Government. The county acquired in 2016 the last of the easements it needed to connect the two existing sections of the trail named for the old Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad that cut across the states’ borders.
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Estimated to cost about US$9.5 million in total, the new segments of trail planned would link existing sections of the trail in Forest Hill and Fallston with a connecting path running through Bel Air. Once completed, the trail will span around 7.5 continuous miles, she said, from East Jarrettsville Road in Friends Park in Forest Hill to Annie’s Playground in Fallston. The second segment currently under construction will extend from the crosswalk along the telephone wires right of way and continue behind the Hickory Hills condominiums along with Ma & Pa Road, crossing Moores Mill Road. The trail will then extend along the back of Bel-Air Memorial Gardens to North Avenue.
The third section will be about 1.5 miles and connect the portion being constructed now with the existing portion that ends on Melrose Lane at Blake’s Venture. That final section is estimated to cost about US$6.8 million, Mumby said. The Ma & Pa trail has been a priority for County Executive Barry Glassman and is seen as a boon for local businesses With the connection to run through Bel Air, she reasoned, it would be easier for pedestrians and cyclists to get to local spots along its length. “For the first time, the trail will go through downtown Bel Air, so it will be walking distance or biking distance for people to get to jobs, or restaurants or shops,” said Cindy Mumby, a spokesperson for Harford County Government.
