The North Jersey Trails Network Initiative has identified nine “opportunity corridors” that could open access and make connections across a six-county region.
Tiffany R. Robinson of the New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition (NJBWC) briefed the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee (RTAC) at its April 13 meeting on progress since the last update to the committee in October 2024.
The initiative, a partnership between the Bike & Walk Coalition and the Rails to Trails Conservancy, aims to reimagine trails not just for recreation but “as ways that people can move every day through the corridors that they call home, that they want to get to, whether they want to walk, bike, or roll in their own communities,” Robinson said. “Local mobility really shapes regional impact. It starts with creating places where people can move safely, they can breathe cleaner air in the neighborhoods they call home.”
The initiative spans six counties—Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, and Union–with a special focus on Newark and Jersey City. “If we can make connections there, it opens up a lot more for people in the region,” Robinson said.
North Jersey Trails Network Initiative Opportunity Corridors
The nine opportunity corridors are:
- Northern Valley Greenway Extension
- Morris Canal Greenway – Carlton Hill Greenway
- Newark Industrial Track – The Greenway
- Pompton Valley Rail Trail Extension
- Patriot’s Path Gaps
- Patriot’s Path – Traction Line-Summit Park Line-Rahway Valley Rail Trail
- SoMa River Greenway Extension to The Greenway and Rahway Valley Rail Trail
- East Coast Greenway – Hackensack River Greenway
- Frelinghuysen Avenue (on-street)
“These particular corridors we find to be important” to open access in the region and will remain in their pipeline, Robinson said. Some are more of a wish list, such as the SoMa (South Orange-Maplewood) River Greenway extension. The extension is not as long as it appears on the map but if it is there, “it would be great if it could connect” to the Rahway Valley Rail Trail and into The Greenway, she said. “Some of these things are our vision that goes well beyond what’s actually there today but if it could happen, it would be a true opportunity,” Robinson said.
The effort began by examining the existing paths and how the gaps can be filled in so that people can travel safely and comfortably through the region. In addition to establishing baseline criteria on design standards, surface types, and feasibility, among other things, the initiative has asked potential users what connections they want and need.
Robinson suggested that RTAC members can help move the effort from vision to implementation by reviewing gaps and links in the network, identifying projects in the region along corridors and or in gaps that could qualify for funding for feasibility, quick-builds, or future implementation.
Three working groups have been created, focused on visioning, defining a network map, and implementing the network. The next steps are to enhance communication, grow an online presence, and conduct fact checking and gap analysis by late spring or early summer. The implementation working group is expected to start up by late summer, she said, while targeted conversations with counties and municipalities and community members is slated for the fall.
The initiative plans to launch its website, www.northjerseytrails.org, on Celebrate Trails Day, April 25.
“There are parts of our region where 40 percent of people do not have a vehicle. They are finding ways to get around and sometimes when things happen, transit is down, they need other ways to get around,” Robinson said. “We want to give folks enough options to be able to get around that is safe and convenient for them.”