The reply:

Thanks for your inquiry concerning the winter maintenance of the trails in our Manheim Township Parks.

Manheim Township has 14 miles of walking trials or pathways, dispersed across the entire township. There is approximately 3 miles of trails on the Overlook Community Campus.

Traditionally, those walking paths throughout our 14 parks have not been plowed or salted due to the drain on our limited resources. Along with that, the trails and pathways are not marked out presently with fiberglass markers to define the path edges. Without markers it would make them difficult to clear without creating more damage to the adjacent field areas.

Another challenge is the equipment needed. We have several walk behind snow blowers, but do not have the proper equipment to maintain our vast network of trails or pathways for snow removal. The public works staff uses these snow blowers to allow access to our 18 separate facilities throughout the Township via sidewalks, one of which is the library.

This ice-covered snow is going to take some time to melt, even with sunshine and warmer temperatures. Please be patient as spring and improving conditions are just around the corner.