Bike Trail Plan Will Consider Neighbors' Concerns

Krystal Knapp
The Trenton Times

July 12, 2003

LAWRENCE - Before paving the way for a 20-mile bike path that would loop through three Mercer County towns, officials want to smooth out a few bumps they've hit along the road.

In response to a neighborhood meeting earlier this week at which people voiced concerns about the proposed trail, the Lawrence Hopewell Bike Trail Task Force has put the brakes on some of its plans.

"We want more time to work together with our neighbors," said task force member Rebecca Taylor of Bristol-Myers Squibb. "We strongly feel we can work together to find solutions we can all live with and create a great new community asset."

At the request of the task force, the township withdrew a grant application to the state to build a 10-foot-wide asphalt bike path through Carson Road Woods as part of the trail.

The Friends of Carson Road Woods, The Washington Crossing Audubon Society and some residents oppose any bike path through Carson Road Woods. Others question why it must be 10 feet wide, asphalt and run through the center of the park.

Other residents supported the path, but questioned the communication process.

They commended the task force for its willingness to listen to residents for almost four hours Wednesday night and praised them for holding the neighborhood meeting.

"By requesting that the grant application be removed from the council's agenda, the task force has now opened the door for meaningful discussion with concerned residents," said Ben Brickner, a member of the Friends of Carson Road Woods who lives near the park.

"The Friends of Carson Road Woods are committed to working with the task force," he said. "We look forward to working toward a solution everyone can be happy with."

In the coming months, the path details will be ironed out with the residents, who have been invited to join a task force subcommittee. The task force also will create a Web site and distribute reports about its monthly meetings and progress to the public.

The township paid $8.4 million to preserve the 183-acre Carson Road Woods parcel between Carson Road and Belleview Terrace, which also borders homes on Carter and Province Line roads. The land had been threatened by development since the late 1980s.

About $3 million was raised privately by the Delaware & Raritan Greenway and Bristol-Myers Squibb donated $1 million to save the property from development. The rest of the money to buy it came from a combination of state, county and municipal funds.

The township council balked last month at a proposal added to the council agenda at the last minute to apply for $200,000 from the state Department of Transportation and provide $45,000 of its own money to build a portion of the bike path.

The council refused to put the application on the agenda to meet the application's July 1 deadline because council members wanted more information and hoped residents' concerns could be answered. The township submitted the DEP application anyway, with the understanding the council could approve it at its July 15 meeting, officials said.

After hearing residents' concerns at the neighborhood meeting, township officials agreed the application should be pulled so that more discussion could take place.

Councilman Rick Miller, whose property abuts Carson Road Woods, thanked the task force for responding to residents' concerns, especially task member Eleanor Horne, corporate secretary of Educational Testing Service.

"We applaud Eleanor for running a very open, civil meeting," Miller said. "Emotions ran high on both sides but she didn't let things get out of hand. She did a tremendous job and she communicated that the trail committee is concerned and really open to suggestions."