Analysis shows Lawrence Council split on trail.
By: Lea Kahn
It wasn’t opposition to the proposed bike path through Carson Road Woods that scuttled a Township Council vote last week on a grant application for the project, rather it was the lack of information on the financing and construction details.
That’s what several Township Council members said this week, as they discussed the proposed state Department of Transportation grant for the construction of a bicycle path through the 182-acre parcel off Carson Road. The deadline to apply for the grant is July 1, but the next regularly scheduled council meeting is July 15.
The grant application, which was a last-minute addition to the agenda for Township Council’s June 17 meeting, sought $219,200 in state funding for the Lawrence Township segment of the 20-mile-long Lawrence Hopewell Trail. The proposed section of the bicycle trail would be a 10-foot-wide strip of asphalt.
The application also indicated that the township would contribute $45,000 toward the project $40,000 for site preparation for the path construction and for parking lot construction at the Carson Road Woods parcel, and $5,000 for site preparation for construction of a path from Bergen Street to Route 206.
The application earmarked $180,000 for construction of a 10-foot-wide asphalt bicycle path through the Carson Road Woods tract and $5,600 for signage and pavement markings on the Belleview Terrace to Rosedale Road segment. Also, $33,600 for signage and pavement markings on Bergen Street and Craven Lane, and signage on James and Gordon streets, plus construction of a 10-foot-wide asphalt path.
The rest of the trail would be built on the campuses of The Lawrenceville School, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and the Educational Testing Service all privately owned properties.
Deputy Mayor Mark Holmes said he is aware of the proposed bicycle path, but he had been waiting to see the final version of the map that would show its location.
"Even the application that we were asked to endorse did not have a map," Mr. Holmes said. "I was not ready to vote on it because I did not have enough information."
Mr. Holmes said that a group of residents who appeared before Township Council to object to the bicycle path as proposed also was a factor in his decision not to take action on the grant application. They had concerns, but he was unable to respond to those concerns without a map in front of him, he added.
"My main thing is, the residents should fully understand where the trail is going and the materials that are being used, and it should be acceptable to the majority of the residents. I am not opposed to the bicycle trail, but at the end of the day, everyone has to be satisfied," he said.
Mr. Holmes said he did not object to the request for $45,000 in matching funds, because grant applications often require a municipal contribution. It would not necessarily be a monetary contribution, he said. It could be in-kind services, such as labor.
Councilwoman Doris Weisberg’s concerns, however, were focused on the financial aspects. She objected to the request for $45,000, noting that the 2003 municipal budget did not include money for new positions or new programs. It was a hold-the-line budget, she said.
"We are half-way into the 2003 budget," Ms. Weisberg said. "There was no way to find out where the $45,000 was coming from. When the trail was first proposed, no township money was necessary."
She also objected to finding the resolution in front of the council that night, waiting to be tacked on to the agenda. To have it plopped down in front of the council at the last minute, she said, was wrong. Residents who were interested in the topic were unaware of it, which defeats the purpose of having public open meetings, she added.
It was only coincidental that residents were in attendance at the meeting, Ms. Weisberg said. Some of the residents who spoke out at the meeting had been on hand to honor Robert Hunsicker, who belongs to the Friends of Carson Road Woods and who was honored by the council for his volunteer work.
Ms. Weisberg said that while she does not object to a bicycle path, this is something that should be reviewed by the township’s Recreation Advisory Committee. She said the committee should review the width of the path and the construction details.
"I have some concerns as it has unfolded," she said. "I don’t see why it needs to be 10 feet wide. That’s big enough for an 18-wheeler (tractor-trailer truck). I hasten to add that I am not conversant on bicycle trails, but I would like it to go to the Recreation Advisory Committee."
Ms. Weisberg also questioned whether the Carson Road Woods section of the bicycle path would be truly accessible to all township residents. Because it is located in the northern end of the township, she said she did not foresee many residents who live in other parts of town being able to use it. Depending on where they live, they would have to load up their bicycles and transport them to the Carson Road Woods, she said.
Councilman Rick Miller said that while he does not object to a bicycle path, he does object to the lack of information that has been made available by the Lawrence Hopewell Trail group. He said he attended a public meeting held by the group on the bicycle path several months ago at the Municipal Building, but there was very little information available. It was mostly maps, he said.
Mr. Miller said that he had pledged to the Friends of Carson Road Woods that there would be a public hearing on the proposed bicycle path before the first shovel would be put into the earth. Then, last week, a grant application was placed before the council for its approval, he said.
"Township Council does not know what is going on," he said. "Township Council as a body has never really heard what is going on. The Lawrence Hopewell Trail folks have not been very forthcoming. If they are going to put a shovel in the ground on township-owned land, they should come to Township Council first.
"Realistically, the municipal manager is the overseer of public lands, but it would not be in the best interest of the townfolk if the manager did that without coming to Township Council," Mr. Miller said. "There is a lot of concern from people what the trail will be like, where it will be located and how it will be maintained."
Mr. Miller said he is especially concerned about the type of surface of the path. He said he would prefer to see a conventional walking path made of crushed stone. The path should be on the periphery of the woods, to avoid wetlands and birds’ nesting areas, he said.
Also, the path should be narrow, Mr. Miller said. A 10-foot-wide path is "enormous," he said, adding that the paved asphalt paths in Village Park are about 9 feet wide. The path through the Carson Road Woods parcel should not be wider than 6 feet, he said.
The councilman also objected to having the resolution endorsing the grant application placed on Township Council’s agenda at the last minute. There was not enough time to read the grant application before taking action, he said.
"I didn’t read the whole grant application, but what stuck in my craw was the 10-foot-wide asphalt trail through the Carson Road Woods," Mr. Miller said. "I have a huge objection to that. The intent was to preserve the Carson Road Woods. Where did this grant application come from, out of the air?"
Mayor Greg Puliti said that his concern last week was the last-minute addition of the grant application to the agenda, because it did not provide enough time for residents to become aware of it and to possibly ask questions.
Mayor Puliti said he also was concerned that the path might be located behind someone’s house, but that concern evaporated when Mr. Guhl, the municipal manager, assured him that it would not be located near a resident’s back yard.
"In reviewing the situation and looking at it, the more I think about it, the path should be able to be used by everybody," he said. "The handicapped should be able to use it. There is a need for a stabilized base, or macadam."
The macadam, or asphalt, surface would allow the path to be used by handicapped persons in wheelchairs or motorized scooters, as well as bicyclists and pedestrians, Mayor Puliti said. He added that he would leave a decision on the width of the path proposed at 10 feet in the application to the professionals, such as the engineers.
"It’s a park," he said. "It was purchased with private and public money. What did we buy it for? It’s open space. Shouldn’t we enjoy it? This is part of the Greenway path. This is a Township Council that has supported greenway paths throughout the town."
Councilwoman Pam Mount, who has been working with the Lawrence Hopewell Trail proponents, said the trail is "an incredibly good idea." It is not necessary to have every detail worked out at this point, she said. The group is open to discussion from interested parties, she said.
The Lawrence Hopewell Trail group "is not wedded" to one path or another, but to the best path for everyone, Ms. Mount said. The proposed path through the Carson Road Woods property is an old farm road, she said.
An asphalt surface for the path is more practical and would last longer than another type of surface, she said. It would make it a year-round path that could be used by pedestrians or persons in wheelchairs, she added.
The 10-foot width is the same as the trail at Terhune Orchard, which she operates with her husband, she said. That path is wide enough for two parents pushing a stroller and walking with a toddler, she said.
Three public meetings on the proposed trail were held over the past few months one each in Lawrence and Hopewell townships, and at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ms. Mount said. A large meeting was not planned because the trail backers wanted to be able to speak to those who attended the meetings on a one-on-one basis, she said.
The $45,000 match that was being sought in the grant would not have to be in cash, Ms. Mount said. The match could be made up by in-kind services. The township’s Engineering Department could survey the property for a path, for example, she said.
The trail will be built, regardless of the July 1 grant deadline, Ms. Mount said. It may be built in sections, but ultimately it will be completed, she said. Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and the Educational Testing Service are building portions of the path that cross their lands, she said.
Most of the path is being built on privately owned land, although some of it will be built on public land, such as the Carson Road Woods parcel. Also, the path may follow some public streets, she said.