Back


Woodbridge News

Print this Page

June 28, 2004

Mayor cites open space, cultural development benefits

Woodbridge Township Council has endorsed the proposed East Coast Greenway that will create a 2,600-mile off-road trail system from Maine to Florida, Mayor Frank G. Pelzman has announced.

Designed as the urban equivalent to the Appalachian Trail, the 15-state Greenway will connect waterfront esplanades, park paths, abandoned railroads, canal towpaths and parkway corridors to serve as a "pedestrian interstate" for walkers, cyclists, skaters, skiers, equestrians and persons with disabilities

The proposed New Jersey portion of the Greenway will cover 92 miles between Pennsylvania and New York. It will pass through several urban areas including Trenton, Princeton, New Brunswick, Woodbridge, Newark and Jersey City, as well as through rural and suburban New Jersey

"The practical benefits to Woodbridge Township are numerous," says Mayor Pelzman, "ranging from improved air quality and decreased traffic congestion to expanded open and recreation space. Other localities that have implemented greenways have seen increased tourist revenue and community redevelopment, and that could certainly happen here."

The East Coast Greenway Alliance is a Rhode Island-based, non-profit membership organization that hopes to create an alternative transportation network linking cities and towns along the East Coast. The project has drawn support from numerous federal, state, county and local government entities, including Governor James E. McGreevey's Smart Growth Initiative for New Jersey.

"The Greenway will do more than connect dots on a map," says Council President Rick Dalina, who sponsored the Woodbridge resolution. "It will connect people with the history of New Jersey and Middlesex County while offering the opportunity to enjoy our area's natural beauty as it was intended to be seen."