Phase 1B is Complete; Let the Party Begin

South Orange plays host to local, state, and federal dignitaries on Monday, Aug. 2 at 10 a.m., as the Village celebrates the completion of Phase 1B of the Rahway River Greenway Project. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will formally open the new bicycle and pedestrian path, lighting, benches, tree plantings and landscaping from Meadowbrook Lane to Mead Street. The work was completed in June of this year.

The Rahway River Greenway Project will see the next phase begin in the coming year. The plan calls for improvements along the Rahway, reaching from the Village's border with West Orange to the Maplewood town line.

First conceived of in 1999, Phase 1B saw the banks of the river relaxed, and invasive weeds replaced with native plants, flowers and shrubs. A bicycle and pedestrian path was built on the side nearest to the Baird, and a bridge connecting the two banks was installed in winter.

In his opening remarks last year, Village President Douglas Newman noted that the project was largely the result of work by three volunteers, who started brainstorming how the river could become more visually attractive and pedestrian-friendly under the auspices of Main Street South Orange's design committee: Janine Bauer, who's now a Trustee; Rob Fisch; and Kirk Barrett.

"Everybody was used to not thinking about the river," noted Bauer, who worked with Village officials to raise funds for the project. She noted that another element of the current phase is signage that explains the historic significance of Flood's Hill and explain to passersby that Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Josh Gibson once played at Cameron Field. Additional signs now alert park-goers to birds and plants of the area.

According to Village Administrator John Gross, the construction is being funded through a $1.02 million congressional earmark; a $225,000 county Open Space grant; a $162,500 grant and $212,500 loan from Green Acres; and grants for $150,000 and $250,000 from the state Department of Transportation.