State Grants Fund Mifflinburg Park Rehab, Rail Trail Design in Union County

State funding announced Jan. 13, 2026 will support two Union County projects aimed at improving parks, trails and accessibility in the county. The awards include $86,900 for rehabilitation work at Mifflinburg Community Park and $161,100 to the Union County Trail Authority for design of approximately 0.12 miles of the Buffalo Valley Rail Trail between 10th Street and 8th Street in East Buffalo Township and Lewisburg Borough.

The Mifflinburg allocation targets a range of site improvements at the community park, including renovation of multi-use courts, installation of lighting and fencing, ADA access upgrades, landscaping and a project sign among other related site work. Those elements combine safety, accessibility and aesthetics upgrades that typically increase evening and year-round use of public recreation spaces while addressing compliance with federal and state accessibility standards.

The larger design award to the Union County Trail Authority will fund drawings, specifications and related documents needed to develop the short rail trail segment through East Buffalo Township and into Lewisburg Borough. The design-level work is the technical precursor to construction, producing the engineering and contract-ready materials that municipalities and trail organizations use when seeking contractors or additional construction funding.

Both grants stem from a state program intended to bolster recreation and conservation projects across northeastern and northcentral Pennsylvania. For Union County residents, the immediate impacts are practical: a more accessible and better-lit Mifflinburg park that should serve families, youth sports and evening activities more safely, and a completed design for a Buffalo Valley Rail Trail segment that can improve nonmotorized connections between neighborhoods and borough streets.

Policy and institutional implications are straightforward. Design grants reduce one major barrier to trail construction by funding the paperwork and specifications that enable bidding and permitting. Park rehabilitation grants subsidize capital improvements that local governments often struggle to fund from operating budgets. These awards do not themselves construct trail segments or complete park rebuilds, so transparency around timelines, matching funds and contractor selection will determine how quickly residents see finished work.

Local officials and community groups will be the next points of contact as designs are finalized and park contracts are put out to bid. Residents should expect public notices, municipal meetings and permitting milestones as the projects move from planning to implementation. For Union County taxpayers and users of public space, the grants represent a tangible investment in accessibility, safety and local connectivity that could unlock further state or federal construction dollars if planning and community engagement proceed efficiently.