More Than Three Miles Of New Trails Coming To North Jersey

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ - Three recreational trails that will cost $619,058, adding nearly three miles to a growing county trail system that began five years ago is coming to Morris County.

“More than 17 miles of trails have now been established in the five years since voters approved the use of Open Space Trust Fund dollars to establish trail systems throughout Morris County,” said Deputy Freeholder Director Stephen Shaw. “We’ve witnessed extensive use of these trails and other outdoor resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.This latest addition to the trails continues the investment we have been making in the quality of life we want to preserve and enhance in this county.”

The new trail projects, recommended earlier this month by the Morris County Trail Construction Grant Advisory Committee, include a second phase of efforts to add 1.46 miles of trail in Wharton. They also include adding nearly a mile of trail in Roxbury Township linking Veterans Park and Emmans Greenway Trail, and completing a fourth phase of trail work to add nearly a half mile to the Bee Meadow Pond Nature Trail in Hanover Township.

Funding for trail projects is derived from Morris County’s voter-approved Open Space & Farmland Preservation Trust Fund, which was established in 1992 and subsequently modified with voter approval in 2002 to establish a Historic Preservation Fund. In 2014, voters approved a ballot question by a margin of 3 to 1 to modify the fund again, this time allowing trail development as an allowable use for a portion of the trust fund money.

The first trail grants were awarded in 2016 to establish 4.24 miles of trails. Since then, an estimated $3.3 million has been dedicated to establish 17.16 miles of trails.

For more information about trail funding and what projects qualify for it, visit the website.

It was among the final official acts taken last night by the Morris County Board of Chosen Freeholders, whose name will change with all 21 county freeholder boards effective Jan. 1, 2021 under a state law that establishes the boards as “county commissioners.” The board will not reconvene again until its annual reorganization meeting on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021, when it will become officially known as the Morris County Board of Commissioners.

Thanks for reading! Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Have a news tip you'd like to share? Or maybe you have a press release you would like to submit or a correction you'd like to request? Send an email to russ.crespolini@patch.com

Subscribe to your local Patch newsletter. You can also have them delivered to your phone screen by downloading, or by visiting the Google Play store.