south bethlehem greenway extended

Yesterday on Facebook I noticed they dedicated a new section of the South Bethlehem Greenway. It's been quite a while since I walked down to what was the end, so I decided to check it out.

The article said the entrance was on 6th, after the Lynn Street bridge (which is close at least 3 years for repairs).  Here it is right before the entrance to Lynfield Terrace (aka South Terrace), the rebuilt federal housing project on the south side.

I parked on the street and took the path to the trail. As stated in the article, you could not go toward the bridge. It was fenced off. Twice. It looks like the bridge should finally be done by the end of the year.

The railroad tracks are also fenced off. Lydia will hate that. She has a death wish and stands on live tracks and takes selfies.

I like this graffiti play on the B&O Chessie System cat. (All those years of railroads with my brothers and dad have finally paid off. I did remember something!)

 There's cool old stuff from the railroad left behind.

It's a bit creepy walking in this section. it's industrial, and not many people have found it yet. I only saw one other biker.  As I headed toward Hellertown I could see glimpses of what I thought was Saucon Park. When the trail ended, I exited the access point and went straight for the green lawn. It was indeed the park. The pool to be exact.

Maybe my dream will come true. it doesn't need to be extended much further to meet up with the Saucon Rail Trail. Then I could walk from my house to Coopersburg!

This "new" section of the trail has benches at the beginning and end, but no lights or other amenities. Yet. It ends with a big pile of gravel.

 

I returned to the car, and drove to the skate park. I couldn't remember how far it was to the Lynn Street Bridge. Not far. I also wanted to see if it was fenced off.

This section of the trail was getting no love. If I remember correctly it just sort-of stopped. With the bridge construction, it really stopped. It's really evident under the 4th street bridge. Graffiti central.

But there was fencing up. And piles of wood and other construction materials. There was hope. Hopefully they don't tear down the ruins of the former railroad.

This is the Lynn Street Bridge. From this side I can walk right under it and keep going on the trail. You can see the fencing off in the distance, past the black pole on the right.

As I got close to the skate park, I noticed a trial going up towards fourth street. So, of course, I took it. This building is at 4th and Williams. I've seen this mural a dozen times before but never stopped. It is not a great intersection to be taking pictures. The building is a full city block. It was hard to get it in the picture. The mural is on the side ...

and on the back ...

and on the front. It's been there longer than I remember. The artist signed it in 2013.

After finding my way back to the car, I headed to Hellertown for some errands. What the heck. I was almost there.

Miles/Steps: 3+. Better than I thought
Bathrooms:   none used
Wildlife:        Since squirrels and feral cats don't count, none
Weather:       high-60s, breezy, overcast. It poured later in the day
Extras:          While in Hellertown, I went to the Little Free Library at the Water Street park. The wildflowers that for months looked like crap, were ab-fab beautiful.