The Lawrence-Hopewell Trail is intended to connect the two townships.
By:Lea Kahn
The next phase of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail a 1.2-mile stretch of asphalt along the perimeter of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Hopewell Township campus is expected to officially open to bicyclists and pedestrians June 11.
That’s the word from the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail Task Force, which met Monday morning at the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.’s Lawrence campus. The task force holds public meetings twice a year.
The official opening ceremony for that portion of the trail has been set for June 11 at 9:30 a.m. at the site, said Becky Taylor, who serves as co-chairwoman of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail Executive Committee with Eleanor Horne.
The BMS/Hopewell leg of the trail, which already is in use by bikers and walkers, runs along the Pennington-Rocky Hill and Titus Mill roads, from Wargo to Old Mill roads. It is the latest segment of the planned 20-mile loop trail to be opened to the public.
The Lawrence-Hopewell Trail is intended to connect the two townships. Plans call for it to cross the Educational Testing Service, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association properties, as well as Mercer County Park Northwest. It may also run along township and county roads.
In Lawrence, a portion of the trail already has been constructed on the Educational Testing Service campus off Rosedale Road. Another segment of the trail begins on The Lawrenceville School campus. It crosses Main Street to Gordon Avenue, where it continues up to James Street. It crosses Phillips Avenue and continues to Craven Lane, across Bergen Street and into Village Park.
The trail backers already are planning for the next phase of the trail to be opened. A leg of the trail from Village Park across Keefe Road to the Mercer County Park Northwest may be opened next summer, Ms. Horne said. There are plans for the trail to continue through the county-owned park.
Also on the drawing board is a segment of the trail from Lewisville Road to Princeton Pike and Fackler Road, according to task force members. The trail would cross Route 206 near Fackler Road and link up with another segment of the trail that would be built on BMS’s Lawrence campus. The exact route of that portion of the trail has not been determined.
Another portion of the trail is planned to bisect the township-owned Carson Road Woods property. Last month, Township Council approved an application for a $225,000 grant from the state Department of Transportation to construct that segment of the trail. The township would provide a $25,000 match for the grant, either in cash or in-kind services.
This marks the third time that Township Council has applied for a grant to pay for the construction of the controversial path through the 183-acre parcel. The council withdrew the first application in 2003 in the face of neighborhood opposition. A second attempt in 2004 was rejected by the DOT.
The Friends of Carson Road Woods, Inc., which helps to maintain the property, has objected to suggestions to install a 10-foot-wide asphalt path through the tract. The group encourages people to use the existing unpaved trails in the park.

