Photo by Sean Quinn
Above, South Orange, Essex County, state and federal officials gather Aug. 26 to announce South Orange being awarded $1 million to complete the River Greenway Project. The final phase of the project is to create bike paths connecting the northern and southern parts of South Orange, as well as connecting South Orange to Maplewood, among other plans.
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Village, county, state and federal officials came together for an Aug. 26 press conference in New Waterlands Park to announce that South Orange had received a $1 million grant from the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program to fund the fourth and final phase of the River Greenway Project, the ongoing plan to revitalize the east branch of the Rahway River while also linking the village’s northern and southern borders through a single trail of pedestrian paths and bike lanes.
This particular grant, among the largest South Orange has ever received, will largely pay for Phase IV of the project — the construction of a 3,600-foot off-road path and the addition of on-street bike lanes connecting the southern border of South Orange at Maplewood’s Chyzowych Field to Third Street near the South Orange Train Station in the Village Center. Upon the project’s completion, the northern and southern sections of the village will be linked to each other and to neighboring Maplewood, allowing residents easy access to downtown businesses and services, the station, village parks, Columbia High School and more.
The route will be a great asset to the community, according to village President Sheena Collum, who she said she is excited to see the project on the verge of completion after being in the works for 15 years. Receiving one of the 28 TAP grants given out by the NJDOT is what has made its final phase possible, and for that Collum said she is grateful.
“It’s amazing,” Collum told the News-Record following the press conference. “Especially with budgets being so tight for municipalities, finding new sources of funding to complete a project as aggressive as the River Greenway Project is no easy task. And $1 million is a tremendous amount of money.”
That amount will cover most of the $1,396,401 that this phase of the project is estimated to cost. According to the grant application, that price includes $750,000 for the pathway construction and installation of 55 lampposts; $89,000 for benches, trash bins and bike racks; and $3,750 for signage and historical markers noting significant locations throughout the southern area of the village including the trolley line. The additional $396,401 will be funded through the village’s Open Space Trust Fund, the application read.
Just as big a factor in the plan’s coming to fruition is River Greenway Committee member Janine Bauer, the former village trustee who first proposed the concept more than a decade ago. Collum lauded Bauer for her passion in pushing for the project, pointing out that Bauer’s drive is the reason it has gotten so far.
“Janine Bauer is a rock star,” Collum said. “When I met Janine about 10 years ago she was talking about this project, and she has been a relentless advocate and champion of this project since its inception. Without her, we would not be having this presentation today.”
Bauer told the News-Record that it feels “terrific” to see her vision receive the needed funding for its last phase, adding that she is now just looking forward to attending the final ribbon cutting for the trail once it is finished. It has certainly been a long time coming — the committee member recalled that she first got the idea for the River Greenway project in 1998 after having to walk to the train station through Meadowlands Park, which meant stepping though goose feces and mud since there was no path.
From there, she got Main Street South Orange, the precursor to the South Orange Village Center Alliance, to take on the concept. And she has never looked back, with the village eventually adopting a master plan and obtaining grants for the project.
Bauer is passionate about the project because she believes in how beneficial it will be for the village. In addition to the simple convenience of having one central trail connecting the northern and southern sections of town, she believes this accessibility will help the local economy by making it easier for residents to visit the shops and restaurants in both South Orange and Maplewood. And, since more people will be walking and biking to get to those places, she said the need for parking will be reduced, meaning the village can use surface areas for tax ratables rather than build more parking decks.
Aside from financial benefits, Bauer said the trail will help the environment by keeping vehicles off the roads. And that is not all.
“It provides a pretty recreational path that’s good for enjoying life and keeping healthy,” Bauer told the News-Record after the press conference.
But nothing would have happened without the support of county, state and federal officials, Bauer said. She lauded the outside legislators who advocated for the project through the years, holding them up as examples of lawmakers who defy the common notion of a dysfunctional government.
“The relationship with the county and state and federal representatives has been critical to the success of the project,” Bauer said. “They’re very supportive. Whenever we need them, we call and they write letters and make phone calls. They do whatever’s necessary. It’s a true partnership.”
Indeed, the county, state and federal officials in attendance at the press conference seemed just as enthusiastic about the plan as the residents themselves. U. S. Congressman Donald Payne Jr., who represents New Jersey’s 10th district, told the News-Record he was happy to write a letter endorsing the River Greenway Project’s grant application, as he believes the project will have positive effects on the community.
Payne — whose father, Congressman Donald Payne, also supported the project prior to his death in 2012 — said it was “common sense” to bring South Orange and Maplewood closer together as communities while also reducing the village’s carbon footprint.
Payne added that he was proud to play a role in bringing the project to reality for residents.
“A lot of times government is criticized for spending, but I’m very glad that I was able to bring dollars back to this community in order to enhance quality of life,” Payne told the News-Record after the conference ended. “These are your tax dollars at work.”
Essex County Freeholder President Britnee Timberlake agreed that supporting the project was the “right thing to do” because of the good it will bring to South Orange. And Timberlake said working with the village to make it happen has been a “seamless” process, which she said indicates the positive type of leadership it has.
“It’s been a pleasure working with all of the trustees as well as Village President Sheena Collum,” Timberlake told the News-Record. “It’s great whenever government of all levels can work together for the collective good of the people. And that’s what you’re seeing throughout Essex County.”
N.J. Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, who represents the 27th Legislative District, said she is excited to see the plan come to fruition as both a state legislator and as a South Orange resident eager to ride her bike along the completed trail. In fact, Jasey told the News-Record that she has been impressed to see the improvements made to the village in recent years, from the development of New Waterlands to the improvements to Floods Hill.
The important thing now is to continue that progress so that South Orange remains a destination, Jasey said.
“We just have to keep it going,”
Jasey said. “It’s important to preserve our public space and create recreational opportunities for our residents. And this is a perfect example.”