Editorial: Yes To The Bike Path

Editorial Board
The Trenton Times

July 15, 2003

Carson Road Woods is a lovely 183-acre park. Its rescue from the threat of development a couple of years ago by a coalition of public, corporate and individual contributors organized by the Delaware and Raritan Greenway was a huge preservation success story. And it will not be marred by routing of a bicycle path through a portion of the park, if the planning is sensibly done.

The bike path is itself a gem of an idea. Extending some 20 miles through Lawrence and Hopewell townships, it will link three Bristol-Myers Squibb corporate centers and the Educational Testing Service headquarters, which among them employ about 8,300 people, many of whom will use the path for recreational biking or commuting. Parts of the loop will of necessity run along the shoulders of streets and roads, which will be widened in places to ensure the safety of cyclists. Safety is also a reason for routing much of the path through parkland: Mercer County Park Northwest, Rosedale Park, the Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association Reserve - and Carson Road Woods.

In the last-named tract, the original plans called for a path 10 feet wide through the central portion of the park, paved with asphalt to facilitate bike riding, as well as wheelchair access for people who otherwise would be unable to enjoy the wildlife and other amenities the park offers. To its credit, the Lawrence Hopewell Bike Trail Task Force has met with residents, listened to concerns about the plan and promised to be open to suggestions about the path's appearance, width and location. (Ten feet does seem excessive, compared to the 6-foot and 8-foot widths of other bike paths in Mercer County, and it may well be that a route can be found closer to the park's borders.)

Task force members invited the doubters to join a subcommittee, and promised to create a Web site to disseminate reports about monthly meetings and other developments. The right note was struck by Eleanor Horne of ETS, the moderator, who told those at the meeting: "This is a bike path for the community. ... We will explore all the alternatives with you. Nothing is cast in concrete yet."