Mining at the Cascetti Quarry ended in 1958, after a snowstorm knocked out power across the region and the quarry hole filled with water. Sixty-eight years later, that water is Sandy Run Park at 1901 Walnut Avenue. The township lists a walking path and fishing there, and says the U.S. Navy uses the 14-acre facility for underwater sonar testing.
A stroll along the Walnut Avenue corridor passes two more pieces of land that stopped being industrial, and each sits at a different stage of becoming public space. The quarry has been township parkland since 1999. A pedestrian trail along Walnut Avenue began construction in spring 2024. The old tank-car repair yard at 1725 Walnut Avenue is in the design phase of the township's most recent public update. In a part of the township the township itself calls nearly fully developed, each of these sites became public space after its industrial use ended.
Sandy Run Park is the chapter that is already written
The township's parks page says Springfield Township accepted ownership of Sandy Run Park in May 1999 from the U.S. Department of the Interior. That is 41 years after the last quarrying. The site went from quarry to flooded hole to federal property to township park.
The posted rules are short. No swimming, no boating, no ice skating. What the township lists is a walking path and fishing.
Why the leftover land matters here
When Springfield Township applied for federal brownfield cleanup money for the tank-car site, its grant narrative described Oreland as a nearly fully developed area with minimal park area. The same document said reuse of the site would add to that minimal park area.
That sets the Walnut Avenue corridor apart. The quarry closed in 1958. The tank-car operation on Walnut Avenue ran from about 1921 to 2001, according to the township's project page. Both sites became public land because their industrial uses ended, and they are neighbors on the same street.
The trail that ties them together
On March 12, 2024, the township began building the Walnut Avenue Pedestrian Trail. It runs from Oreland Mill Road to the area next to the Sandy Run Park entrance. Through a partnership with Sandy Run Country Club, the trail was to be installed along the southern side of Walnut Avenue.
Construction closed Walnut Avenue between Oreland Mill Road and Camp Hill Road from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The work was expected to run through the end of April 2024. Sandy Run Park was also closed during construction, though visitors could enter after 3:30 p.m. until dusk. The township's public notice does not include a completion announcement, so the trail's finish date rests on that spring 2024 schedule.
The township's grant narrative describes the tank-car site's reuse as a new crossroads for pedestrians and bicyclists. It links the eastern segments of Walnut Avenue to Oreland Mill Road and the Walnut Avenue pedestrian pathway toward Sandy Run Park.
The trail may eventually reach further. In March 2022, commissioners authorized a grant application of $175,000 to extend the Walnut Avenue Trail through Sandy Run Park, connecting to the existing trail system in Piszek Preserve. The records I reviewed show the application, not an award, so a walk from Walnut Avenue into Piszek Preserve should be treated as a plan until the township says otherwise.
The tank-car site is the chapter still being drafted
The former tank-car yard is the least finished stop, and its timeline shows why. The township's project page and news releases record these steps.
Date | Milestone at 1725 Walnut Avenue |
|---|---|
About 1921 to 2001 | Rail tank-car repair and maintenance facility |
2015 | Township buys the 7.8-acre property for a future public park |
March 2023 | Township announces over $930,000 in grant funding for the park project |
November 2024 | Design contract awarded to PORT of Philadelphia |
March 5, April 2, and May 7, 2025 | Three public open houses at the Springfield Township Building |
The March 2023 announcement said the township had completed roughly two years of soil and water monitoring under Pennsylvania's Land Recycling program and was ready for the next step.
From purchase to a design contract took about nine years, from 2015 to November 2024. The quarry took 41 years to reach township ownership after mining ended. A township steering committee of park and recreation advisory members and three neighbors of the property guided the planning. The township's stated purpose for the 7.8 acres is a public park.
What is confirmed and what is not
The most recent public update I found on the park is from spring 2025, when the project page lists a draft concept design alongside the third open house. Nothing I reviewed gives a construction start date or an opening date, and nothing says the park is open. The township's project page is the place to confirm the current status.
The township says updates on the park plan come up at the monthly Park and Recreation Advisory Committee meeting. That committee meets on the first Wednesday of each month, excluding July and August, at 6:30 p.m. in the Springfield Township Administration Building at 1510 Paper Mill Road. The township calendar at springfieldmontco.org is the source to check before anyone plans around it.
Where the walk can end
Two Oreland stops are close by. Gigi's Corner is at 12 Allison Road in the Oreland Shopping Center. It is a cafe that also carries local specialties and handmade gifts, and it opened at that address in May 2023 after being a mainstay at the Flourtown Farmer's Market. Its website lists hours of Wednesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Oreland Inn at 101 Lorraine Avenue has been family owned since 1979. It calls itself one of the last old-time tap rooms and runs darts and shuffleboard leagues.
Diane Reddington is glad to talk through what is changing around Oreland, including the Walnut Avenue park plans as the township releases updates. Let's connect.
