Chatham Trail - 1 Of 10 Suggested Countywide For Grant Funding

CHATHAM, NJ — Southern Boulevard to the Green Village Road connector trail is one of 10 trail projects that may see grant funding from the County of Morris.

At the most recent Board of County Commissioners meeting, there were 10 trails recommended for $926,498 in grant funding in total, through the Morris County Trail Construction Grant Program.

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The Southern Boulevard to Green Village Connector was among six projects up for design and permitting grants, with $120,000 requested for the Chatham Township project.

The others that are up for $304,091 in design and permitting grants are: the Town of Boonton’s Grace Lord Park Trail for $32,000; the East Hanover Lurker Trail for $46,800; the Lincoln Park Morris Canal Trail Extension for $27,260; the Morris Plains Community Park Trails for $34,081; and Riverdale’s Independence Park Walking Trail for $43,950.

“A Design & Permitting Category was included in the 2021 trail grant program this year because it allows municipalities to adequately assess the needs of a proposed trail project and get a realistic understanding of construction costs,” said Betty Cass-Schmidt, chairwoman of the Trail Construction Grant Advisory Committee, who presented the projects to the County Commissioners.

“They [the municipalities] can approach the project with a moderate investment that allows them to develop a manageable strategy for trail implementation,” Cass Schmidt.

Commissioner Director Stephen H. Shaw said it made sense to add the Design & Permitting Category, with trail development having experienced an uptick in the number of visitors to the county’s parks and trails “fourfold after the pandemic hit last year.”

There were four construction grants also sought at a total of $622,407, which would add six miles of trail countywide, according to a news release from the county, and include: Denville’s Den Brook Park - Phase 2 for $220,220; Madison’s Park Trail - Phase 1 for $196,000; Washington Township’s Rock Spring Park Trail Extension for $76,087; and Wharton’s Irondale Mountain Trails - Phase 3 at $130,100.

If the projects are approved at the Commissioners’ Dec. 8 meeting, these projects will be part of 23.22 miles of trail in six years that the program has funded, in grants totaling nearly $4.25 million.

The grant program is open to all 39 towns in Morris County, with a limit of one application each funding cycle.

Go to www.morriscountynj.gov/Departments/Trail-Construction-Grant-Program for more information.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.