If you are a casual or serious cyclist or if you are a business person who thinks that developing Cape May County’s cycling potential is good for improving our attractiveness to our visitors, you will find a recent Cape Issues meeting of interest. We met with Planning Director Leslie Gimeno of the Cape May County Office of Economic Resources and Capital Planning and with Peter Lomax, an environmental scientist with Lomax Consulting and chairman of the county Open Space Board.
Jeff Vecere, an avid cyclist and head of the Cape Issues’ cycling initiative, met with Gimeno recently. Because Gimeno had so much to say on the topic, Vecere asked her and Lomax to speak to us at our monthly meeting.
Biking is a big deal nationally and internationally, and our county is starting to take it very seriously. With only 12 to 15 percent of the county developed, we are a natural place for biking because of our openness and extensive natural beauty.
Gimeno has been working for a long time in the planning office with her staff to identify fun attractions which the county has to offer, and how they interplay. This includes not just bike and walking paths, but boat/kayak launches, and playgrounds.
The Planning Office and the Open Space Board, in conjunction with municipalities, is working with Louis C. Joyce to provide a broad network of recreation opportunities to build cohesion among the various bike paths.
Joyce is the executive director of the South Jersey Economic Development District, which covers Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland and Salem counties. He is a recognized planner and bicycle enthusiast and is studying how to connect disjointed bicycle paths to provide a comprehensive grid from the north end of the county all the way to the southern end, and to the South Jersey region as well. The majority of the “spine” of the county will be stand-alone, off-road paths.
As development moves forward, there will be chances for public/private partnerships to build spurs off of the bike path to access other municipal recreational facilities, such as wineries or many other attractions.
From Bay to Ocean
The next round of funding will focus on coastal recreation, to open paths between the Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Lomax said that it is likely we will have meetings in June with all municipalities to talk about and critique our administration of the program and generate ideas on regional projects. It is probable kayak launching, and other recreational activities will come out of that.
We have plans for fix-it stations with tools and a rack to put a bike upon, to work on it. There will be air-fill, and water stations and shaded rest stops.
Challenges
Right now we have approved bike projects from South Seaville all the way to Lower Township. When you get to South Seaville, there is a challenge because of the Cedar Swamp. To get from South Seaville to Upper Township, you have to deal with a heavily-restricted, environmentally-sensitive area.
Upper Township is a unique situation. Most of the bike paths make use of utility easements. Connectivity to Woodbine and Dennis is a real task. Railroad bed leases would be used, but they are held by Cape May Seashore Lines, and they are not amenable to giving them up.
Because biking has become extremely popular, Cape May County is on the right “path” to pursue our natural gifting in this attraction. Not only do we have the openness and natural beauty, our terrain is flat. Who knows; years from now we may be competing with national and international biking destinations!
Art Hall
From the Bible: Your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:14 NIV
Cape May County – I believe it is time that California be returned to the indigenous people who lived there. They understood the land and the weather and built dwellings made as part of the earth and took care of the…
