Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Celebrates River Work in South Orange

South Orange celebrated the completion of the latest feature of the Rahway River Greenway Project with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday with a ceremony at the South Orange Municipal Pool.  The event was attended by many local officials from different forms of government, each staking a claim in the completion of the bridge.

Among the speakers were State Senator Richard J. Codey, Congressman Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ-08), Assemblyman John McKeon, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, and Village President Alex Torpey.  Trustee Janine Bauer, chairperson of the River Greenway Committee and Sheree Davis of the New Jersey Department of Transportation spoke as well.

The , installed in August, primarily will be used for bikers and pedestrians to walk across to the parking lot across the river.  The recently-completed work spans Mead Street to Meadowbrook Lane.  It builds on the first phase, which encompassed a new bicycle/pedestrian path, lighting, benches, tree plantings and landscaping from South Orange Avenue to Mead Street, and was completed in fall 2008.  Phase 1b included the same improvements, and was . 

Village President Alex Torpey welcomed the crowd by pointing out how thankful the town was for the help by members of the state and federal legislatures.

 “We have a lot of people here from every level of government and I think that is indictive of the way we do business in South Orange,” said Torpey.  “The way that we work on our projects, that we have partners with other governments…those partnerships end up with really incredible projects like this.”

U.S. Representative Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ-08) helped the town obtain nearly $2 million for the Rahway River Greenway Corridor Project.  In addition, for the bike and pedestrian pathway.

“South Orange has always been on the cutting edge of livable communities,” said Pascrell.  “I think the Village has done a great job in getting commuters out of their cars and onto buses and their trains…Being in New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the Union, we can and must do more to promote alternative and ulterior modes of transportation.  The Rahway River Greenway promotes active, healthy living.”

Former Governor Richard Codey, who has been involved with this project from the beginning, lauded Village Trustee Janine Bauer for her efforts in the Rahway River Greenway Project.

South Orange is a great place,” said Codey.  “It always has been, it always will be.  This is a showing of what you can do when people like Janine (Bauer) go to work and say ‘I want to get this done, this needs to be done.’  And as a result, it is done.”

Assemblyman John McKeon brought up memories of jumping in the river with Bauer and fellow member of the legislature, Mila Jasey, to help clean it up.  Jasey chimed in by mentioning the pride she feels as a South Orange resident after seeing the bridge built.  She also highlighted the relationships between the different branches of government.

“One of the reasons that this project has come together so successfully is because of the relationships that have been built over the years between local, state and federal officials,” said Jasey.  “We look forward to continuing to serve you in that capacity and others.”

Trustee Bauer was last to speak.  She joined the other officials in mentioning the team effort involved for the bridge.

“There are times when push comes to shove, we do have to really fight for our principles, our projects and our programs,” said Bauer.  “Everybody who is an elected official here and a professional has done that.  So I just want to thank everybody for that.”

With the completion of this bridge, the committee will move into the next phase of the Rahway River Greenway Project.  The next step will be a third pedestrian bridge that connects the active recreation areas at Waterlands Park with the passive recreation areas on the opposite side of the river, near the DPW yard, and Chyzowych Field.