Ideas & Inspiration
The Bergen Arches Preservation Coalition
As Jersey City continues to grow, and transit options evolve, our organization believes the arches can serve as a shared-use path or linear greenway that provides access for all members of the community. We also see the potential to connect the arches to a larger network of greenways known as the Crossroads.
Our goals are to educate the community on the benefits of preservation and infrastructure re-use within a dense urban environment like Jersey City, and address issues of accessibility, circulation, and social equity throughout the region.
Essex-Hudson Greenway
The East Coast Greenway connects 15 states and 450 cities and towns for 3,000 miles from Maine to Florida. We are fostering a safe walking and biking route through the country’s most populated corridor.
A once-in-a-generation opportunity exists to create nearly nine miles of linear park In Northern New Jersey. A new Greenway, spanning Essex and Hudson Counties, will improve access to nature and create new recreational and transportation opportunities.
Open Space Institute, with support from partners New Jersey Bike & Walk Coalition and the September 11th National Memorial Trail Alliance, has reached a preliminary agreement with Norfolk Southern Railway Company for property spanning Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, Belleville, Newark, Kearny, Secaucus, and Jersey City.
An Essex-Hudson Greenway will offer residents of these communities easy access to nature for a range of activities including walking, biking, running, and birding. The Essex-Hudson Greenway project also sets the stage for enhanced local economic activity as well as transportation, health and wellness, and environmental improvements as both a local trail and as a segment of two increasingly popular larger routes, the September 11th National Memorial Trail and the East Coast Greenway.
With a preliminary agreement reached between Open Space Institute and Norfolk Southern, the Essex-Hudson Greenway project now advances to its next phase. While much work lies ahead in terms of community outreach, park design, engineering and environmental assessments, and financing, the concept of this linear park has never been closer to reality.