Vernon feels pressure from state to extend bike path

VERNON-With the hopeful spring thaw on the way, Vernon residents will soon have an additional reason to get out and enjoy the four-season promise of their township. The Vernon Town Council heard a report from the Vernon Bike Path Committee on Monday, March 28th in regards to the current status of the project. The path will connect Warwick, NY with Hardyston according to the mission statement issued by the committee. Currently, Phase I is open connecting Warwick to Vernon via Prices Switch Road and Canal Road. Phase II will run from Canal Road, along Maple Grange Road and through the site of Maple Grange Park. It will eventually intersect with Vernon Crossing Road adjacent to Valley Mason. Committee members John Logan and Frank Colace spoke to the council regarding the current status of the path, its proposed route, and any easements that still needed to be granted to property owners along the proposed route. The report came at an opportune time as the New Jersey Department of Transportation is clamping down on grant extensions, and the grants received by Vernon Township to complete Phases II and III are set to expire by the end of this year. If the township does not complete the phases to the State Department of Transportation's standards, the funding will be removed. The DOT granted Vernon $150,000 for construction of Phase II and an additional $100,000 for Phase III. According to Township Manager Don Teolis who has been working with the committee and the Open Space committee, Phase II can be completed within the next few months. However, Phase III presents some issues that may not be resolved by the end of the calendar year. "We will move forward with Phase III as best we can at this time." Council Member Janet Morrison agreed that Phase II should be a priority, and then Phase III might become feasible in the future. "We should move forward with Phase II," she said, addressing the entire council and the committee, "and use that as leverage when we meet with the DOT." By the end of the presentation, it was agreed that Phase II should become the main priority for the committee and the township engineer. The path calls for a 10' blacktop surface buffered by a natural shoulder where possible. In areas where it is not possible, like the Maple Grange property and Masker Road near that site, a permeable surface will be used. Mayor Ira Weiner also lent his support to the phasing of the project: "I don't want to see us lose that grant money from the state, so whatever you guys (Teolis and the committee) propose, we are going to support."