County Taking Beginning Steps in Lacey Rail Trail

The county has started to survey land in Lacey for the construction of the rail trail, which will stretch from Barnegat to Lacey Road in Forked River.

"There isn't a survey right now," Ocean County Freeholder John Bartlett said Thursday. "We're trying to find out where the property is."

Lacey Township had previously granted the county a 12-foot easement off the west side of Taylor Lane for the construction of a portion of a 2.4-mile stone dust trail from Oyster Creek to Lacey Road that will be designed after the land is surveyed, Bartlett said.

The trail south of Lacey Road is the next phase of the county’s project, Bartlett said. But north of Lacey Road will most likely be the last phase as the future of that portion of the trail is still a subject of debate.

“The railroad right-of-way in Lacey Township is owned by Lacey Township,” he said. However, the township has granted the county a 10-foot easement on one side of the right-of-way north of Lacey Road. “They have graciously given us enough space to build our section of the bike trail through there.”

The trail that will stretch north of Lacey Road continues to be a point of contention over whether the right-of-way should be used exclusively for the bikeway, or in tandem with the proposed Route 9 bypass. The township is waiting on CAFRA approval from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

“Until Lacey moves forward with whatever they’re going to do — whether they’re going to build the road or not — that section of the trail will probably be the last to be completed again because of the uncertainty in the past over what would happen in Lacey,” Bartlett said.

Some Taylor Lane residents who recently encountered the county's surveyor found their fences flagged, said resident Eugene Kessler.

“Their fences may not be on their property,” Bartlett said, which has been a common issue throughout the construction of the entire trail. “People have inadvertently encroached on land that wasn’t theirs. We work with people… We both need to be good neighbors to each other.”

If properties have flags on their fences, the fence will have to be moved, he said.

Kessler said he has no problem with the rail trail being built behind his property but there are many kids who ride quads in the area.

“They’re just going to tear it up.”