(The following story by Terrence T. McDonald appeared on The Montclair Times website on August 18, 2010.)
BERGEN, N.J. — A Bloomfield Township consultant appeared before Montclair’s Township Council last night, asking its members to join an effort to create an 11-mile pedestrian and bicycle path alongside an unused stretch of railroad track.
The defunct rail line runs from the Bay Street Train Station through Glen Ridge, Bloomfield and Belleville, and eventually to Kearny.
But Norfolk Southern, the Virginia-based freight company that owns the track, is completely opposed to the plan. The company may need the tracks to add or resume rail service in the future, said Rudy Husband, spokesman for Norfolk Southern.
“We own the property. We pay taxes on the property. And we’re not interested in having that property used for recreational purposes,” Husband said.
Andrew Strauss, the consultant for Bloomfield, who has worked on other rails-to-trails projects, said this stretch of track is one of the best he’s ever come across. Creating the trail could also boost residents’ property assessments, Strauss said.
“This is far and away the most compelling project I’ve encountered in a long time,” he said.