Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
With a snip of the scissors, the ribbon dropped and the newest section of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail – on Province Line Road in Lawrence Township – was opened for business last week.
The 3,760-foot-long section of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail runs along Province Line Road from Route 206 to Bannister Drive. It goes through the Foxcroft development and then crosses Princeton Pike, connecting with the portion of the trail in the Lawrence Township-owned Maidenhead Meadows Park.
The newest leg of the bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly trail is known as the King’s Highway segment, because it begins at the intersection of Route 206 and Province Line Road. The King’s Highway is the historic name for Route 206, which was laid out under King Charles II to connect Boston, Mass., and Charleston, S.C.
“It is a gorgeous day to celebrate the latest achievement (in the Lawrence Hopewell Trail project),” said Eleanor Horne, co-president of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail Corporation, as she welcomed attendees at the Sept. 29 ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Horne, who retired from the Educational Testing Service, credited co-president Becky Taylor and her former employer, the Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., with having the vision to create an off-road trail to link the two townships nearly 20 years ago. The Educational Testing Service also supported the effort.
But the 22-mile-long trail, which was developed as a public-private initiative, could not have succeeded without the support of Lawrence and Hopewell townships and Mercer County, Horne said. She noted the presence of county and township officials, including Lawrence Township Mayor David Maffei and Hopewell Township Mayor Kevin Kuchinski.
The Lawrence Hopewell Trail provides a safe, family-friendly and mostly handicapped-accessible means to travel from one township to the other on foot or by bicycle, Horne said. And it has proven to be a popular amenity, she added.
Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes said that when Horne and Taylor presented the idea for the Lawrence Hopewell Trail in 2002, there were many doubters. But through the force of their personalities, they moved it along, he said.
“I want to say that as Mercer County Executive, I have never been prouder of this project,” Hughes said. Princeton, Ewing Township and Hopewell Borough want to make connections to the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, he said.
Mayor Maffei of Lawrence Township said the trail represents “the best” of Lawrence and Hopewell townships. The mayor, who lives on the corner of Route 206 and Province Line Road, said he witnessed the swift completion of the King’s Highway segment of the trail.
Lisa McCormick Lavery, the director of Corporate and Foundation Communications for Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., said the pharmaceutical company is “very proud” to recognize the latest segment of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail.
Lavery credited Taylor with the vision to connect the two townships, gently teasing Taylor by noting that when she gets an idea, “get out of the way.” The trail is an “enduring gift” to the community, she added.
Taylor said that “it is not the Becky and Eleanor show.” Many people played important roles in moving the Lawrence Hopewell Trail forward. The trail was as much about “community” as it was about building a trail, she said, pointing to the two mayors who have worked together on it.
“It was an extraordinary experiment and we didn’t know if it would work,” Taylor said. Quoting the oft-used phrase that “it takes a village,” she said the trail would not have come to fruition if everyone had not worked together.
“It’s a sweet place to be when you have to think of where to put the signs (marking the latest segment of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail),” Taylor said.
