Efforts growing to link Boonton line to 9-11 trail

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The grassroots and defunct “Ice and Iron” proposal, which sought to rehabilitate the unused track bed of the former Boonton train line into a pedestrian and bicycle pathway, has resurfaced with some clout.

The old line runs from Montclair, through Glen Ridge and Bloomfield, Belleville, Newark, to Jersey City. On May 1, Essex County Freeholder Brendan Gill issued a press release which supported the incorporation of this route into the proposed 911 Memorial Trail. This trail would connect New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., the three sites of the Sept. 11, 2011, terrorist attacks. The path would be 1,350 miles in length, and would pass over many recreational trails that currently exist. Gill, president of the Essex County freeholders, in his press release, announced the collaboration between the NJ Bike & Walk Coalition and the September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance, for the development of the 11-mile, Montclair to Jersey City route, officially known as the Essex-Hudson Greenway.

Brian Stolar, NJB&W chairman, in a telephone interview earlier this week, said the unused track bed through Essex County is a significant piece of the memorial trail.

“There aren’t too many ways to get through this area without driving,” he said.
The proposal, Stolar said, would permit residents living near the rehabilitated track bed to possibly even bike to work in Newark.
“Our next step is to work with Freeholder Gill and Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo Jr. to connect and work with Hudson County, the 911 group, and Norfolk Southern, the owner of the tracks, to coordinate the transfer of title.”

Bloomfield resident Susan Hebert, who is on the Bloomfield Open Space Trust Committee and was part of the Bloomfield group that advocated for the Ice and Iron proposal, said the project has come back enveloped into something bigger and stronger.
“There’s going to be political muscle to make it happen,” she said recently at her home.

Hebert first heard about doing something with the abandoned train track at the 2010 Glen Ridge Eco Fair.
“Someone was making noise about this,” she said. “It wasn’t Ice and Iron then. It was just taking the old Boonton line and making a trail out of it.”

She said two people at the fair, Richard Webster and David Wright, were talking about the proposal, sometimes referred to as “rails to trails.”
“We started talking and they made a presentation to the Bloomfield council and the Open Space Trust Committee,” she said. “The Open Space Trust Fund devoted about $20,000 to it.”

Drawings were made and an advocacy sprang up. A Facebook page was created and funds were obtained from PSE&G, and NY/NJ Baykeeper. But Hebert said politics derailed the effort. She would not elaborate.

“It was a long time ago,” she said. I spent a lot of time and emotional effort on it. But it’s still a big ‘if.’ There’s a lot of machinations that have to be worked out. But since it’s tied to the 911 trail, it has a bigger bang to it. We’re perfectly situated for that. You want to get people’s support.”
She said the owner of the train line is another nut to crack.

“Norfolk Southern is not known for endorsing rails to trails projects,” she said.
Norfolk Southern spokesman Michael Fesen did not respond to an email or voice message relating to his story.
Glen Ridge Councilman Dan Murphy said the borough council has reaffirmed its support for rehabilitating the train track area.

“It would be a lovely idea,” he said in a recent telephone interview. “For a guy like me, it would be a direct commute to Branch Brook Park, in Newark.”
Murphy, a recreational runner, said he did not think the old Boonton line could be used again as a working route.
“We need a second tunnel before that,” he said.
Murphy was referring to a another tunnel into Manhattan.

Former Glen Ridge Councilwoman Elizabeth Baker, who advocated for the Ice and Iron trail, wrote in an email that the trail was too long in coming, but worth the wait.

“By offering safe and meaningful walking and biking in our intensely congested area, the 911 Memorial Trail has the potential to be a truly transformative asset, greatly expanding families’ leisure-time opportunities. In addition, it is likely to be an economic boon to the towns through which it runs by drawing vital investment dollars.”

Freeholder Carlos Pomares, D-5th District, and until this past January a Bloomfield councilman, sees the 911 Memorial Trail as benefiting the Morris Canal Greenway located in the township. Along with Bloomfield resident Richard Rockwell, who was appointed to fill his council seat, Pomares established the Morris Canal Greenway Committee to help establish another former industrial route, the Morris Canal, into a recreational area.
“I think any activity,” he said in telephone interview earlier this week, “especially if they are different in nature, would be beneficial. It makes our canal greenway relevant to a wider audience.”

Pomares said the two routes could connect, possibly in the area of Beach Street and JFK Parkway.
In an email, Rockwell agreed with Pomares that the two trails could connect at that location.

“You could also connect near Wrights Field, adding additional connections to our parks, plus a convenient connection to Branch Brook Park,” he said. “I could ride my bike to Wrights Field, ride along the Morris Canal Greenway, connect to the Ice and Iron Trail at Willet Street, and ride to Branch Brook Park. I could then tour Branch Brook Park or continue on the trail as far as it could take me. And you have the added feature of connecting the history of the Morris Canal with the history or our industrial and passenger railroads with a commemoration of 9-11.”

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