Tookany Creek @ SPS: Restoring, Reconnecting, Reimagining

Tookany Creek at SPS

Help us achieve a greener creek edge and future trail

SPS is rebuilding after the fire in Abington, right along Tookany Creek where Abington, Jenkintown, and Cheltenham meet.

A cross municipal group of neighbors has been working on a simple vision for the back of the SPS site along the creek:

• Cleaner water and less polluted runoff

• A real native tree and shrub buffer on the creek bank

• A future walking and biking greenway connection between our communities

Abington’s Shade Tree Commission has already raised serious concerns about the current plan and called for less pavement, more trees, and a stronger buffer along Tookany Creek.

We are asking Abington and SPS to:

1. Protect a continuous creekside corridor behind the SPS site, with grading that allows a gentle slope to the water and room for a real native buffer and future mixed purpose trail.

2. Avoid any new hardening in the mapped floodplain, and instead focus on green stormwater solutions and invasive removal.

3. Coordinate with regional partners so that future restoration and a trail connection can be built with outside funding, not paid for by SPS alone.

Who to email

If you cannot attend the upcoming meetings, or want to add your voice between meetings, here are the most important people to email right now:

• If you live in Abington

  • Email publiccomment@abingtonpa.gov, plus your Township Commissioner, EAC@abingtonpa.gov, STC@abingtonpa.gov

  • CC Township management at cchristman@AbingtonPA.gov, amcilvaine@abingtonpa.gov (or the main township contact you prefer)

  • BCC info@jenkintownabington.org (so we can track numbers)

• If you live in Jenkintown or Cheltenham

  • Email your own Jenkintown Borough Council or Cheltenham Township Commissioners and ask them to support the Tookany Creek at SPS restoration, greening and trail easement concepts and coordinate with Abington

• SPS’s Community Contact Form

  • A short, positive note to SPS’s community contact, asking them to work with the townships on creek restoration and trail access

Keep emails respectful and focused on the creek and community benefits, not personalities.

Sample email for Abington residents 

Feel free to copy, paste, and personalize a sentence or two.

Subject: Please support a greener Tookany Creek at SPS

Hello,

I am an Abington resident and I am writing in support of the Tookany Creek Restoration at SPS concept that has been shared with SPS, the EAC & STC. I am glad SPS is rebuilding here, and I would love to see this project also fix a damaged stretch of Tookany Creek behind their site.

I have concerns about the current plan and ask that any approval for SPS include:

• a continuous native riparian buffer along Tookany Creek, not just a narrow strip of lawn and scattered trees
• green stormwater practices near the creek, so less polluted runoff flows straight into the water
• keeping a clear corridor along the rear of the site so a future public greenway and access easement between Abington, Jenkintown, and Cheltenham remain physically possible

So many of our best outdoor experiences happen along our creeks and rivers. If we restore this stretch of the Tookany and open it up to people, we give workers and neighbors a healthier place to walk and a reason to care for the creek for future generations.

Thank you for the work you are doing on this project and for considering my comments.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Street address, town]

Extra line for Abington residents emailing their Commissioner

You can use the same email content and add this line at the top or bottom:

I am asking you to support a stronger buffer, green stormwater improvements near the creek, and room for a future public greenway behind SPS when this project and the waiver come before the Board. Please back your Shade Tree Commission and EAC if they recommend these changes.

Sample email for Jenkintown or Cheltenham residents

Subject: Support Abington’s Tookany Creek at SPS improvements

Dear [Council member or Commissioner],

I live in [Jenkintown or Cheltenham] and I am writing in support of the Tookany Creek Restoration at SPS concept next door in Abington. This stretch of the creek and rail corridor is shared by our municipalities, and what happens behind SPS will affect our residents and our future greenway connections.

I am asking you to coordinate with Abington Township and support:

• a real native riparian buffer behind SPS
• green stormwater projects along this reach of Tookany Creek
• and a reserved corridor for a future public walking and biking trail that can link our communities

Thank you for working with your neighbors upstream to protect Tookany Creek and open it up for people.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Street address, town]

Optional short note to SPS

If you want to email SPS directly, here is a short, positive template:

Subject: Support for Tookany Creek improvements behind SPS

Dear SPS,

I live near Tookany Creek and I am glad SPS is rebuilding in Abington. I have seen the Tookany Creek Restoration at SPS concept and I hope your team will work with Abington, Jenkintown, and Cheltenham to strengthen the creek buffer, add green stormwater features, and keep ample space for a future public greenway behind your site.

It would mean a lot to neighbors to see SPS become a model for how industry and healthy waterways can coexist.

Thank you for considering this.

Sincerely,

[Your name]