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, along Tookany Creek where Abington, Jenkintown, and Cheltenham meet.

Whether people support or oppose the rebuild in principle, Abington’s commissions and Planning Commission have already voted to move the project forward with conditions. The public question now is whether those conditions will be strong enough to protect the creek edge and keep future options alive.

We are advocating for:

• Cleaner water and less polluted runoff
• A real native tree and shrub buffer
• Preservation of usable space along the creek for future restoration and possible public access
• Safer future bike and walking connections between our communities

Our renderings are **not** SPS’s plan. They are advocacy visuals showing what could still be possible if the Board strengthens the conditions.

WE ARE ASKING ABINGTON AND SPS TO:

• Preserve the widest feasible usable corridor along Tookany Creek, with grading and slope treatment that do not foreclose future restoration, maintenance access, or a possible trail.

• Avoid additional hardening in the mapped floodplain and prioritize native buffer restoration, streambank stabilization, and better stormwater treatment near the creek.

• Engage in good-faith discussion during the current planning process regarding preservation of the corridor and the potential future dedication or acquisition of a restoration and/or public access easement.

• Coordinate with the Township on separated bicycle access along Highland Avenue.

Who to email (as of APR. 28)

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

  • 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 preserve a usable Tookany Creek corridor at SPS

Hello,

I am an Abington resident and I am writing in support of the Tookany Creek at SPS concept that has now been shared with Township officials and commissioners.

I am glad SPS is rebuilding here, and I support the broader landscape, stormwater, and restoration conditions already discussed by the Planning Commission, EAC, and STC. At the same time, I ask the Board to make sure the final written conditions also:

• preserve the widest feasible usable corridor along Tookany Creek behind SPS
• avoid design choices, including grading, road alignment, and slope treatment, that would foreclose future restoration or public access
• require good-faith discussion during the current planning process regarding a future restoration and/or public access easement
• coordinate with the Township on separated bicycle access along Highland Avenue

This is a rare chance to improve a damaged stretch of Tookany Creek while preserving long-term public options before redevelopment makes them impossible.

Thank you for your consideration.

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 at SPS concept next door in Abington.

This stretch of creek sits at the border of our municipalities, and what happens behind SPS will affect future restoration, water quality, stormwater resilience, and the possibility of better walking and biking connections between our communities.

I ask that you support Abington in requiring:

• preservation of a usable corridor along Tookany Creek
• avoidance of design choices that foreclose future restoration or public access
• coordination on separated bicycle access along Highland Avenue and future regional trail connections

Thank you for working with your neighbors to protect this important stretch of Tookany Creek.

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]