Friends of Carson Road Woods: News

Friends organize trail-related letter campaign

Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The Lawrence Ledger

July 29, 2004

Township grant application in dispute.

Hoping to derail plans for a 10-foot-wide paved path through the township-owned Carson Road Woods, a group of residents is organizing a letter-writing campaign to express opposition to the proposal.

The Friends of Carson Road Woods Inc. agreed Monday night to initiate the letter-writing campaign in response to Township Council's application to the state Department of Transportation for a $200,000 grant to create a paved trail.

The letters should be addressed to the state Department of Transportation, the state Department of Environmental Protection or the Office of Natural Land Management in the DEP, said Robert Hunsicker, president of the board of directors of the Friends of Carson Road Woods.

Mr. Hunsicker said letters could be sent to U.S. Rep. Rush Holt, as well as to state Sen. Shirley Turner and Assembly members Reed Gusciora and Bonnie Watson-Coleman of the 15th Legislative District. The elected officials should be aware of their constituents' feelings, he said.

There is no deadline for the letter-writing campaign, Mr. Hunsicker said, although it would be good to write the letters as soon as possible. The application is expected to be filed by the end of July, he said.

"We want to notify the DEP and the DOT about our feelings," Mr. Hunsicker said. "They are not aware of our feelings. A lot of people don't want a trail. The DOT and the DEP have never heard (about the dissension). They might think about what's best for this piece of property."

The Friends of Carson Road Woods is opposed to a bicycle path through the 183-acre parcel, which is bordered by Carson Road, Carter Road, Province Line Road and Belleview Terrace. Members many of whom contributed money toward the purchase of the land believed the property would remain untouched.

Lawrence Township paid $8.4 million for the Carson Road Woods tract through a combination of private and public funds. The Delaware & Raritan Greenway raised $3 million in private donations. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. donated $1 million. The rest of the money came from New Jersey, Mercer County and Lawrence Township.

The path through Carson Road Woods is part of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, which is a 20-mile loop path linking Lawrence and Hopewell townships, the Educational Testing Service and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.'s Lawrence and Hopewell corporate centers.

Earlier this month, Township Council approved a proposed path for the trail that would relocate a portion of it from the middle of the tract to the western perimeter of the property. It is a compromise version of a plan that was suggested by Eleanor Horne, who co-chairs the LHT Task Force.

The compromise plan suggested by Ms. Horne and the LHT also called for an 8-foot-wide path, but Township Council with the exception of Councilman Rick Miller supports a 10-foot-wide path. The state grant application calls for a 10-foot-wide path.

Monday night, the Friends of Carson Road Woods handed out a sheet listing potential points that letter writers could make. Paving the road through the woods would change the character of the wooded preserve, for example.

Money that would be spent on the path could be spent on other projects, the list suggested. The trail would not be used as alternative transportation to get to work. It is intended to be a recreational trail, although there are existing trails that can be used for hiking.