By Chris Rotolo
MONMOUTH COUNTY – During the height of the COVID-19 health crisis, the Henry Hudson Trail was a sanctuary port in an unprecedented storm for bikers and hikers in search of some normalcy.
While businesses deemed nonessential remained closed, and public and private recreational programming options were suspended, Port Monmouth resident Shannon Henderson said she and her family made regular visits to Monmouth County’s longest and most heavily utilized multiuse regional trail.
“You can only spend so much time indoors before everyone went a little stir crazy,” Henderson told The Two River Times in a Sept. 16 interview near the trail’s Bray Avenue intersection. “For our kids’ sanity, and definitely for my sanity, we needed a place to get away from it all and change the scenery, while still being distant.”
Henderson said the extended absence of some her family’s favorite eateries and activities in nearby Matawan and Freehold made the early portion of pandemic-living especially difficult.
But the trail was always an option. And now, a presentation delivered during a Sept. 6 meeting of the Monmouth County Recreation Commissioners, and additional comments by county park official Andrew Spears, indicate that previously planned trail improvement projects, as well as a new trail offshoot, are picking up steam after first being reported by The Two River Times in January 2019.
“COVID really didn’t set these projects back. In fact, it allowed us some time to focus on engineering and permitting; the necessary behind-the-scenes activities,” said Spears, the Monmouth County Park System administrator. “This project had a long lead time, and we’re still a few months away from finalizing the design and going out to bid. But the county park commissioners and the board of county commissioners have made this a priority.”
The Henry Hudson Trail is part of the National Network of Rail Trails, a series of recreational trails throughout the United States constructed along decommissioned railway routes. This particular trail was once part of an NJ Transit line that ran from New York City and down the Bayshore to a terminal in Sea Bright.
Monmouth County acquired the 12 miles of property spanning Route 36 between 1988 and 1990, and extended the trail in 2000 by purchasing another 12 miles of property from NJ Transit stretching from Aberdeen, through Marlboro, and concluding in Freehold near the intersection of routes 79 and 537.
The trail upgrades brought to light in the winter of 2019 were focused on pedestrian safety and aimed to close two gaps in the southern extension, including a disconnect between Lloyd Road in Aberdeen and Church Street in Matawan and a divide in Marlboro near the intersection of Route 79 and Wyncrest Road, and where the trail continues at Big Brook Park.
Additional upgrades intend to extend this trail section past its current end point at Route 537 and into downtown Freehold, where a southern terminus would be created near the county’s Hall of Records on Main Street.
The plans to extend the trail were made possible by the county commissioners’ Jan. 24, 2019 agreement to the $2.37 million purchase of approximately 20 acres of property adjacent to the decommissioned Freehold Branch railway line. The former freight and passenger service line included connections to the Pennsylvania Railroad from Freehold, as well as the New York-Long Branch Railroad from the Matawan-Aberdeen station. The route was abandoned in 1983.
Henderson said she has been hesitant to explore the trail’s southern extension because of the extensive gaps along heavily trafficked roadways, but connecting the links in the chain would change her mind.
“Connecting (the trail) all the way through, and extending it into the heart of Freehold would really help bring together the activities we love in Freehold, and the restaurants we love to visit, with our newer love, riding the Henry Hudson Trail. I can’t wait to see the progress,” Henderson added.
Spears explained that potential links in the chain exist, but the projects themselves will be complicated engineering feats.
“The will to link the missing sections is there, we just have some decisions to make about the safest and most viable course of action.” For instance, one question they are looking to answer is, “Where the train tracks used to cross Route 520 (near Big Brook Park), would it make more sense to build a connection going over or under that area?” Spears said.
Spears also noted that rerouting the trail in a way to allow for the crossing of Route 520 at a more pedestrian-friendly location is also being discussed.
Further west of the entrance to Big Brook Park is the historic Old Brick Reformed Church, a house of worship that sits near the intersection on Route 520 (Newman Springs Road) and Dunn Drive.
According to Spears, the church – which was founded by the earliest Dutch settlers of Monmouth County and dates back to 1709 – could be used as safer link across the county roadway to the Freehold-bound section of the trail. However, such a design would require an additional trail path be developed through the vacated Marlboro Psychiatric Hospital property, which shut its doors in 1998.
Currently, the Henry Hudson Trail is composed of 111 acres over 24 miles. According to Spears, the park system estimates that the Henry Hudson Trail received approximately 270,000 individual visitors last year. The public usage of a park system entity that winds its way across public roadways has prompted several other safety upgrades to be listed in the plan.
The following upgrades are expected to be made to 25 different trail crossings in the municipalities of Atlantic Highlands, Hazlet, Keansburg, Keyport and Union Beach: pedestrian activated beacons; restriping of crosswalks; signage additions and/or replacement; and ADA compliancy upgrades, such as depressed curbs and detectable warning pads.
Spears could not provide a timeline for the completion of these projects, but trail users are encouraged to keep their eyes peeled for the improvements.
The article originally appeared in the October 6 – 12, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
