New Trail would connect Pequannock and Wayne

[News]

Plans for new Morris County trail advance with significant federal funding
By Denise Copeland/For The Jersey Journal
November 16, 2009, 4:30PM
Source

A Star-Ledger story reports that a proposed six-mile hiking and biking trail to run through Pequannock and Wayne, connecting to NJ Transit’s Mountain View train station, has gotten long-awaited federal authorization, including $1.9 million in federal dollars.

The money will be used to design the project, including engineering, surveying, topographical, wetlands and other environmental reviews, said Frank Pinto, director of the Morris County Department of Planning and Development.

If all goes well, construction of the trail could begin within two years. The estimated total price tag for the project is $4 million.

The asphalt trail, which would run from Post Lane in Riverdale, through Pequannock and to the train station in Wayne, would be the first of its kind in the Route 23 corridor region of Morris and Passaic counties. It has been especially appealing to transportation officials because it connects with mass transit.

The bike path would be open to cyclists, strollers, in-line skaters and horseback riders, but motorized vehicles, such as dirt bikes, would be prohibited. The trail would provide a link to Pequannock Valley Park and the aquatic park along the Wanaque River, officials said, and also would pass beneath Route 23, providing a safe highway crossing.

Pinto said the toughest obstacle will be getting hikers and bikers over the Pompton River. Rohsler said the likely solution would be to add a pedestrian segment to an existing NYS&W bridge that now spans the waterway. That issue will be thoroughly explored in the design phase, he said.

The idea for the bike path was conceived more than a decade ago by Pete Standish, a Pequannock resident and avid cyclist, said local officials. When Standish died, he donated money to the township for the project. The money sits in a township account.

To memorialize Standish’s effort and contribution, a portion of the township’s bike lane may be dedicated in his name, officials have said.

For the rest of the story, see Proposed Morris County hiking, biking trail.

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