Atlantic County Bike Path

[John Boyle]

June 8, 2002 Atlantic County bike path construction to start this month By THOMAS BARLAS Staff Writer, (609) 272-7201, E-Mail Construction of the first stretch of Atlantic County's long-awaited bicycle path is scheduled to begin later this month. The county is scheduled to hold a ceremonial groundbreaking for the bikeway east at 11:30 a.m. on June 19. It will signal the start of a project that's been discussed for years. "This path will provide bikers, runners, rollerbladers and walkers of all ages with a safe place to enjoy themselves," said Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson. "We want very much for this facility to be a resource for those who live and visit Atlantic County." The county recently awarded a $1 million contract to DeFalco & Disconti Inc. of Atco for work on the bikeway. Financing the work is $541,000 in federal highway enhancement grant money. The rest of the costs will be covered by money from the Atlantic County Open Space Trust Fund. Plans call for a 10-foot-wide asphalt path that will run 7.5 miles between the Shore Mall in Egg Harbor Township and Atlantic County Vocational Technical School in Mays Landing. The route runs along the former West Jersey and Reading Seashore Line rail line. Trailheads will be located at the Shore Mall, English Creek Avenue, and the vocational technical school, and will have limited parking. Each site will have location maps that show the approximate distances between various destination points. To improve safety along the route, the county is installing a new traffic signal at English Creek and West Jersey avenues. It will have a pedestrian-activated control panel. The bikeway east is only the first part of the project. Also planned is the bikeway west, which runs between Gaskill Park in Mays Landing and an area near the Buena Vista Campground around Route 54 and 40 in Buena Vista Township. When the paths are completed, the overall plan is for county, state and municipal bike paths to somehow be linked to provide an alternate transportation route through the county. Part of the network would involve a 27.2-mile stretch of the state's official touring routes that run for about 240 miles between High Point State Park and Cape May Point State Park. The route through Atlantic County essentially runs along Route 50, Philadelphia Avenue and Egg Harbor-Green Bank Road. To e-mail Thomas Barlas at The Press: Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com