ADAMS TWP — A pedestrian and bicycle trail is proposed on property along the western side of Three Degree Road from its intersection with Route 228 to the Adams Township Community Park.

The Mars School Board voted Tuesday night to cooperate with the township to build the trail.

“It would be an asset to our school teams who sometimes need to use the park for practice or conditioning,” said board President Dayle Ferguson.

Township engineer Ron Olsen said one of the main reasons the township supervisors want the trail is to provide a safe place for the Mars cross country teams to run. In poor weather, the student athletes frequently run to the park along the edge of the narrow Three Degree Road, which has little or no berm.

“If we could get them on a trail, that would be great,” Olsen said.

He said the township has applied for a federal grant that is administered through the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission. If approved, the grant would pay for 80 percent of the estimated $160,000 project. The township would pay the remaining 20 percent, Olsen said.

The grant would fund the project in two phases, Olsen said.

The first phase would pay for a study, in which the state Department of Transportation would get consultants to determine what rights-of-way would be needed, if safety upgrades are needed on Three Degree Road between the middle school and the MHY Family Services soccer fields, and any other improvements required.

The second phase would provide grant money for design engineering and construction of the trail.

Olsen said the developers of the two housing plans along the trail’s route, Fulton Crossings and Taylor Ridge, have donated rights-of-way for it. The study will determine what other land would be needed for the trail, Olsen said.

He said now that the school board supports the project, the township will talk with MHY Family Services to get its backing.

Olsen was pleased that the school board voted for the project.

“It’s a chance for the township and school district to cooperate on a project that will be not at all controversial,” Olsen said. “We’re mostly concerned with getting the (student athletes) from the schools to the park safely.”

He did not know when construction could begin because the project is in the early stages.

Gary Peaco, the township’s building code and zoning officer, said the trail will only enhance the township.

“It’s in the early planning stages, but we’ve taken a huge step in applying for the grant to try to move forward with the project,” Peaco said.