NORTH HANOVER-The
New Jersey Department of Trans
portation is planning a bike trail
that will span the entire state and
township officials are hoping to be
included on the route.
By:David Koch
North Hanover Deputy Mayor
Nancy Morrow suggested at a
March 7 meeting about the bike
trail that officials reroute the pro
posed path into North Hanover
along New Egypt-Cookstown
Road.
The proposed route now goes
through Main Street in Cookstown
and makes a right onto Bunting
Bridge Road. From Bunting
Bridge Road, the bike path would
exit Burlington County into Ocean
County.
Deputy Mayor Morrow asked
the bike trail’s steering committee
to reroute the proposed path fur
ther up Main Street, past Bunting
Bridge Road, so that it runs along
New Egypt-Cookstown Road be
fore it leaves the county. Her plan
would place 1.5 miles of the trail
in North Hanover where the path
would pass by the township’s re
cently acquired Gail property, a
new public park.
"We believe the Gail property
will be a good stopping point, and
work well with the entire recrea
tional aspect," said Deputy Mayor
Morrow.
The proposed 240-mile bike
trail will span New Jersey from
Cape May to High Point, splitting
the state down the center. The trail
will pass through 12 counties, in
cluding Burlington. The proposed
path goes through Wharton State
Forest, McGuire Air Force Base
and Pemberton Township.
"It’s a logical request," said
Dave Wyche, assistant public in
formation officer for the county
freeholders. "Whether they’re
going to change it or not is com
pletely up to the New Jersey De
partment of Transportation."
Burlington County was the last
county to have a meeting on the
bike path.
Much of the proposed bike
path is designed from pre-existing
paths used by bike clubs and will
use existing shoulders of roads.
"The route was identified to
cover roads with low traffic and
large shoulder room," said John
Waltz, vice president of Bikeways
Engineering in North Jersey, a
consultant for the project.
The proposed path also is de
signed to pass along historical and
scenic attractions of the state.
"North Hanover clearly wants
to tap into the tourism of it," said
Mr. Waltz. "It certainly seems that
going that way (New Egypt-Cook
stown Road) seems plausible."
Officials said they expected to
hear if the township will be one of
the trail’s hosts by this year.