Open space is a hot button topic when it comes to farmland preservation and urban sprawl.

In Coplay, there is a wide spread belief the borough has little open space left and that the community is built up to the hilt. However, the town is greener than some might think.

A 4-acre plus tract on land previously owned by the Coplay Cement Manufacturing Company is currently on the market. It is located on the northern fringe of the borough, off Chestnut Street between the Whitehall Township border and the Ironton Rail-Trail. Some speculate the land will be developed in the future.

A swath of open space sandwiched between Front Street and the Lehigh River runs the entire length of the borough. The tract includes a portion of the Ironton Rail-Trail.

The borough also owns the 11.5-acre borough parkway, Sammy Balliet Stadium and the Coplay Sports Inc. baseball complex. Other open spaces include the tot lot behind borough hall and next to the library, St. Peter's Catholic Church holdings between Fifth and Sixth streets and Coplay and Center streets, the American Club of Coplay Pavilion, an area behind Parkway West and smaller pieces of land such as the Saylor Park Cement Kilns tract.

Borough councils, past and present, have supported open space. When the IRT was first proposed, the borough joined the effort and has since budgeted funds annually for the trail's upkeep and improvements.