PETERSBURG – About 16 people attended a community engagement meeting in Upper Township, April 19, to hear about plans to fill in a missing piece of the bike trail in Cape May County and finish what will be a 105-mile trail running from Philadelphia to Cape May.
About a quarter of those attending expressed some concern for bike traffic running next to or through their property. Upper Township Engineer Paul Dietrich invited those people to stop into his office, so they could go over the proposed map of the bike path and discuss options.
“This (meeting) is to open discussion,” Dietrich said.
Representatives from the South Jersey Transportation Planning Organization (SJTPO), Claire Jaffe, Chad Gaulrapp, and Alan Huff, presented the plan, which includes creating a route between Dennis Township and Beesley’s Point, eventually connecting with an existing portion in Atlantic County, to complete the predominantly off-road trail.
By “off-road,” the SJTPO representatives meant not on roads with vehicular traffic but rather along railroad or utility rights of way.
The bike trail would look different in different areas – paved sections, a boardwalk, or a dirt path, depending on what would be required. Options for vehicular traffic areas – or on-road portions – included painted bike lanes, a lane separated by bollards or a median, with the last option being preferred.
Currently, the Cape May County portion of the bike trail is in place between Cape May and Dennis Township. Atlantic County has about 20 miles completed, with another 20 or so in the planning stage. About 25 more miles is proposed for Camden County, which would be linked to about 5 miles of finished bike trail at the Philadelphia end of the trail.
The plan is to use federal transportation funds for bike trails into local communities.
