Bike path section gets planning OKs

The Trenton Times

August 6, 2004

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP- Bristol Myers Squibb has received planning approvals to begin building the first leg of a 20-mile bike path linking this township and Lawrence.

The mile-plus stretch will run from Pennington-Rocky Hill and Old Mill roads to Titus Mill Road near Wargo Road.

With several environmental applications still pending, BMS officials said construction on the 10-foot wide pathway is expected to begin this fall and be completed within two months.

"This is a fairly lengthy piece of the path and people are welcome to use it as soon as it's done," said Becky Taylor, a spokeswoman for BMS.

Ultimately, the paved trail will join three BMS campuses, the Educational Testing Service, the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association, St. Lawrence Rehabilitation Center and parks, school grounds, fields, woodlands and existing streets.

The $6 million project is a collaboration among BMS, ETS, Stony Brook, Saint Lawrence and local, county and state agencies.

Lawrence has opened one segment of the path. It links Village Park, Main Street and the Lawrenceville School.

Another piece, through Carson Road Woods, has been stalled for more than a year as residents there debate the environmental impact a bike path will have on the wooded site.

Hopewell residents, too, have had concerns about aspects of the path as it runs through their community.

Plans to run it down Bayberry Road drew criticism from residents last year. Taylor said BMS is working with neighbors on a more acceptable plan.

"There are broad swaths of this path that are still being mapped out," she said. "We're working with the community to determine what path it will take. We're working on it one piece at a time."

Taylor said BMS became involved in the bike path project to be a good corporate neighbor.

"We want to give back to the communities where our employees live and work," she said. "We're helping to create what we hope will ultimately be a wonderful resource for the community. It could take years to complete but we'll move as we can."