The proposed Essex-Hudson Greenway project, a plan to convert unused railroad track along the Old Boonton like to a continuous 11-mile long, 100-ft wide outdoor recreation space that would span eight towns, continues to build momentum, with more support from organizations like The Sierra Club, as well as towns along the trail, including most recently, Bloomfield.
More than just a walking and biking trail, the Essex-Hudson Greenway project would also promote local economic recovery by connecting neighboring communities with business districts, parks, and places of employment.
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Here’s what planners envision for Essex-Hudson Greenway:
And here’s what it looks like now:
Wheeler Antabanez, a contributor to WeirdNJ, an explorer of the Passaic River, and author of The Old Asylum, takes a series of long walks, from Montclair to Jersey City, along the abandoned Boonton line, which he describes as one of his frequent haunts.
Antabanez chronicles his journey, where along the way, he is met with graffiti, wild turkeys and a deer. View his entire photo essay here.
Essex-Hudson Greenway Project shared this message for anyone thinking about exploring the abandoned line:
The property that could become the Essex-Hudson Greenway is still currently private property. Please refrain from walking along the line until it becomes open to the public. Please keep up to date at essexhudsongreenway.org to be informed about when walking the line is possible.
They claim it’s private property but if you do Google Earth, there are businesses that fenced off the right of way or paved over the tracks for parking. The price should be lowered since Rails to trails (Essex-Hudson greenway) will have to dispute with property squatters along the route.
Good & important call-out PAZ. I didn’t realize it was a free-for-all. It seems to qualify as abandoned property. It makes the cautionary notice about trespassing just flat out silly.
I care more about the proposed golf course encroachment of the Liberty State Park shoreline. The potential environmental & open space loss is many times more important (and hundreds of millions more in value) vs this this $65MM rail trail project.