FOREST CITY, Pa. — The 38-mile stretch of the D and H Rail Trail passes through Forest City. Each year the trail draws many people to the area.
"A lot of people use this for biking, it is a safe place, there are no cars; we see parents and grandparents with their kids learning how to bike," said Lynn Conrad, Rail Trail Council NEPA Executive Director.
Several organizations like the Rail Trail Council of NEPA and the Forest City Outdoor Action Team are always looking at ways to get even more people out and about on the trail and also get them to explore what lies beyond the path.
"We were looking for a way to get more trail users to get off the trail and go to main street forest city and use the main street businesses, so we came up with the idea for a sculpture trail," said Deb McNamara, Forest City Outdoor Action Team.
This is the first of five sculptures for the trail. Artist Scott Nichols created it out of steel, bike chains, and other bike parts. The main vision of this sculpture was to remind people the Forest City trailhead offers wifi.
"Hopefully, the people will come in and sort of tune into the wifi and be able to see what is up the road right in Forest City and the surrounding areas," said Scott Nichols, sculpture artist.
The organizations hope the new additions will help bring more tourism to the area to support the small businesses.
"That's what keeps us growing that is what keeps us stable. It's what brings young people back to our area, and we need to have new things to offer, and if you don't have growth, you can't develop new things to offer, and you can't move forward," said Suzanne Atcavage, Greater Forest City Business Alliance President.
The organizations also unveiled a sign on the trail highlighting the region's coal mining and railroad history, which will be the muse for the next sculpture.