[Update: This hearing has been moved to March 24 due to the weather conditions.]
The following has been reprinted from a letter by Dennis Markatos-Soriano, Michael Oliva, and Eric Weis of the East Coast Greenway:
Dear Friends:
The East Coast Greenway, the developing 3,000-mile bike route connecting cities from Maine to Florida, has long seen the Meadowlands crossing [in northern New Jersey] as the most difficult nut to crack along the entire route. But for the first time, we see a possible opening.
NJ Transit is building 2 new rail bridges across the Hackensack River (a “north” span and a “south” span adjacent to the current Portal Bridge, which will be put out of commission), and taking 2.5 acres of parkland from Hudson County to build a new rail facility. By law, they must give back to the County. State law mandates that NJ Transit must compensate Hudson County by providing one of the following: either (1) double the acreage being taken, (2) double the dollar value of the taken land, or (3) a combination of replacement land and financial compensation. We want that mitigation to take the form of 2 miles of Greenway trail in Hudson County, including a bike & pedestrian path on the new southern Hackensack River bridge, to bring the Greenway off-road from Belleville Turnpike in Kearny to West Side Avenue in Jersey City, adjacent to Hudson Generating Station. Two miles of trail, in a 20’ wide corridor, comes to 5 acres: that’s double the area of the land being taken, meeting the letter of the law.
But to accomplish this, we need your help. On Wednesday, March 24, from 6 to 8:30 pm, there will be a critical public hearing at Secaucus Town Hall (1203 Paterson Plank Rd). We urge your attendance. If there is a strong show of support for a bike-ped facility, we can get the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and Hudson County on our side. Public support is imperative; without it, success is unlikely.
In the 18 years since the East Coast Greenway was conceived, this is the best opportunity we’ve seen to build part of the ECG across the Meadowlands. Can we count on your support? Please contact mike@greenway.org if you have questions, or to let us know that you’ll be there.
[Note: The hearing location is a 4-minute walk from a stop on NJ Transit’s 190 bus route, which runs between Paterson and the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Comments can also be sent by mail to Laurie Cotter, Deputy County Administrator, 567 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07305 with a copy to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Green Acres Program, Bureau of Legal Services and Stewardship, P.O. Box 412, Trenton, NJ 08625-0412.]
Wow, this would be great. I’ve tried ridding a couple times from the burbs to Jersey City, but that Rt 7 bridge just before 440 is a nightmare.
The Greenway needs to be completed, and getting past this tough spot in any manner will be an accomplishment. Any chance of using the old Portal bridge or is it being demolished? It would be nice if there could be a LI Spur to the EC Greenway, perhaps along the abandoned old LI Motor Parkway…
There will be bike/ped access on the Wittpenn Bridge replacement. This includes improvements to Rt 7/Belleville Turnpike for bike/ped safety.
The existing Portal Bridge will be removed. The coast Guard is requiring 50 foot clearance on the new bridges. The existing Portal Bridge is much lower and ii is not feasible to refurbish it. There are problems with the pivot mechanism that resulting in problems closing the bridge after opening it. Documentation can be found at http://www.portalbridgenec.com
Mike, thanks for pointing out the name of that Rt 7 bridge. If anyone’s interested, here’s a description of the work:
http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/works/studies/rt7wittpenn/
Looking at the ‘Proposed Alignment’ plan, it does look to be widened with shoulder. Of course with the nicer road the cars will be driving like it’s a highway.
Mike, do you know if anything came of the old Boonton train line rail-to-trail concept? With the proposal being made in this post, I guess the rail conversion won’t be happening.
I support this highly; but cannot attend meeting. Is there any way we can email in support.
This is little known, the meeting spot is hard to access after work for many, especially if you don’t live next to it, and particularly if you rely on public transit or on crowded rush hour roadways, so it would be nice to show support of this public desire in another format.
Thank you,
Susan Rodetis
Hi Susan and others,
There is no email comment option we are aware of, however you can send snail mail comments by February 24 to: Laurie Cotter, Deputy County Administrator, 567 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City, NJ 07305.
and a copy to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Green Acres Program, Bureau of Legal Services and Stewardship, P.O. Box 412, Trenton, NJ 08625-0412.
We will update the story to add this information.
I support this wholeheartedly but can’t attend the meeting. I will send my comments to Laurie Cotter and to the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection. Do you have a template that I could use? If not, it’s ok, I will write my own. Thank you for all your hard work!
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I think i gotta change my bike route in the next session with me and my biking peers.
Thanks for sharing.