Inside a gravity railroad depot built 157 years ago in the borough, community members gathered on Tuesday to set the stage for the area’s development into a tourist destination along the Route 6 corridor.
As part of a state-sponsored program, Waymart and its nearby localities were recently designated as a “Route 6 Heritage Community.”
The designation, administered by the Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corridor Corporation, is comprised of state and local stakeholder groups that are pushing to make the popular byway a go-to place for tourists throughout its entirety.
Tuesday was the first of three local meetings that will attempt to pull the Waymart area’s unique resources - natural, historical, and economic - into a cohesive, marketable plan that may include expanding its offerings.
“If we had our way and an open check book with no limitations, that’s really what we’re here for this evening,” said Richard Truscello, a community planner with EADS, an Allentown-based firm, at the meeting. “The real focal point of the program is to develop ... local tourism. Not everybody is named a heritage community.”
The Route 6 Corridor Corporation hired EADS to consult communities that are a part of the program.
The Waymart area has the distinction of being the only community in Wayne County to receive the designation, which was granted in a competitive application process.
Wyalusing Borough in Bradford County also shares the honor.
One goal for the Waymart stakeholder group will be to develop a tangible, tourism strategy that will also additionally enhance the area’s businesses - hopefully launching a more robust economy.
“We really make a link between tourism and the economic base,” said Truscello, of his firm’s involvement with the project. “We try to put together an action, oriented strategy. ... We’re not just doing something pie in the sky.”
Community members at the meeting, which numbered about a dozen, also broke up into groups to develop a “wish list” of items they would like developed in the future, as part of budding the area’s heritage offerings.
The number one “wish list” item was to create a recreational trail beginning in the borough, over Farview Mountain, then connecting with a trail system that has an access point in Fell Township, Lackawanna County.
The next meeting will focus on area businesses.
The date has not yet been determined by the Waymart Area Historical Society.
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Inside a gravity railroad depot built 157 years ago in the borough, community members gathered on Tuesday to set the stage for the area’s development into a tourist destination along the Route 6 corridor.
As part of a state-sponsored program, Waymart and its nearby localities were recently designated as a “Route 6 Heritage Community.”
The designation, administered by the Pennsylvania Route 6 Heritage Corridor Corporation, is comprised of state and local stakeholder groups that are pushing to make the popular byway a go-to place for tourists throughout its entirety.
Tuesday was the first of three local meetings that will attempt to pull the Waymart area’s unique resources - natural, historical, and economic - into a cohesive, marketable plan that may include expanding its offerings.
“If we had our way and an open check book with no limitations, that’s really what we’re here for this evening,” said Richard Truscello, a community planner with EADS, an Allentown-based firm, at the meeting. “The real focal point of the program is to develop ... local tourism. Not everybody is named a heritage community.”
The Route 6 Corridor Corporation hired EADS to consult communities that are a part of the program.
The Waymart area has the distinction of being the only community in Wayne County to receive the designation, which was granted in a competitive application process.
Wyalusing Borough in Bradford County also shares the honor.
One goal for the Waymart stakeholder group will be to develop a tangible, tourism strategy that will also additionally enhance the area’s businesses - hopefully launching a more robust economy.
“We really make a link between tourism and the economic base,” said Truscello, of his firm’s involvement with the project. “We try to put together an action, oriented strategy. ... We’re not just doing something pie in the sky.”
Community members at the meeting, which numbered about a dozen, also broke up into groups to develop a “wish list” of items they would like developed in the future, as part of budding the area’s heritage offerings.
The number one “wish list” item was to create a recreational trail beginning in the borough, over Farview Mountain, then connecting with a trail system that has an access point in Fell Township, Lackawanna County.
The next meeting will focus on area businesses.
The date has not yet been determined by the Waymart Area Historical Society.
