Inflation. It's a word that’s been said a lot in the last few years. It’s affected just about everything including a big project in Millcreek.

In 2019, the township was awarded a grant to extend the trail on Presque Isle up Peninsula Drive. 

It still hasn’t been built. 

Sean Macaluso was camping with his family at Sara’s Campground at the entrance to Presque Isle. 

“It’s just beautiful. It’s nature. You can do whatever you want here. It’s awesome,” he said. 

But what’s not awesome is the path to get there.

“Some people go by the 25 mph speed limit and then other people just do whatever they want and they gas by it,” he said, adding it’s dangerous by car, too. 

“Sometimes, the bikers feel like they’re in vehicles, as well. But they’re not…that was probably the one close call,” he said. 

Matthew Waldinger, Millcreek Twp.’s director of planning and development, agrees. 

“We have a lot of people that like to ride bikes. A lot of people that wish they could walk but there’s no safe way to do it right now,” he said.

The township wants to extend the trail from Presque Isle to the Tom Ridge Environmental Center. 

In 2019, construction was estimated to cost about $4 million. Now it’s up to $9 million. 

“We’re trying hard to assemble the funding that we can. We are looking for other partners that could help us to get this done,” Waldinger said.

The eventual goal is to extend the trail to West 8th St. The hope is that will bring more people up to the businesses there.

There’s no timeline for when the trail could be built or how long it will be initially, Waldinger said.

That depends on how much money they’re able to get. Their application for a grant for the project is due this week.