Let’s Build a Bike Path

To the Editor: 
Let’s discuss the bike path. Our paved bike trail travels from the Cape May County Zoo to the beginning of the Cape May bridges.
Anyone who walks or bikes that section realizes what a gem it is, passing through farmland, wineries, dry, upland forest, and inland wetlands, and yes, housing and commercial businesses.
I know a few years back, many homeowners in Rio Grande, on Railroad Avenue, opposed the location since it was too close to their homes. Boy, I bet they will be pleasantly surprised when the value of their property increases since they are right on the trail! This could be said for anyone who owns a home within a mile of the trail.
Should the trail be continued to Atlantic and Cumberland counties? Emphatically yes.
Should the county provide benches, picnic tables, bike repair stations, and a security presence? Yes again, and allow me to elaborate.
Anyone who has hiked the “open space” of our cape encounters three obstacles. You will run into bodies of water, an impassable, freshwater wetland, or the dreaded “green Briar” thorn that will rip your clothes to shreds and leave various scars.
If you can avoid that, we have water moccasins, and snapping turtles close to any water, poison ivy, and oak.
If all that is avoided, in about a mile you will stumble onto “No Trespassing” marked private property. So what good is open space if the public cannot access it?
By developing the electric right of way, you allow public access to a slightly elevated land mass, free of weeds and other critters that scratch, bite, and otherwise cause havoc on one’s body.
The completed bike path will get pedestrians and bicyclists off very dangerous roads with little or no shoulders or sidewalks.
The bike trail can be completed most economically by grading the ground. Then apply a mixture of recycled, crushed concrete/asphalt. It will then be compacted down. Not the best for a thin-tired road bike, but fine for walking and wider tire Hybrid and mountain bicycles.
By completing the bike path in five or 10-mile segments, it should be cheaper and easier than a mile at a time, but I am not an engineer, so it is just my assumption. As finances allow, the path can then be paved with asphalt, but since you have a firm underlayment, it will be many years before the trail has potholes, ripples, or cracks.
Best of all, this is already paid for by the Open Space fund.
What are the benefits to the residents and visitors to the Cape?
It will provide recreation and exercise to anyone willing to partake. It will provide another method of transportation to other towns and connected counties. It will provide Atlantic Electric crews quick and easy access to repair high line towers.
With the completion of the bike trail, it will become a year-round regional and national draw, with visitors spending on lodging, restaurants, groceries, and other essentials and souvenirs. If it snows, it would be ideal for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. More visitors equal more taxes in our coffers to share the tax burden and more year-round jobs for residents.
It’s time for all to get on board by supporting our trail and let’s grow our seasonal economy into a year-round one.