Some upcoming events along the D&R Canal, one of our area’s great resources for walkers, bikers and joggers:
This Sunday is a 12-mile “practice walk” in preparation for the 40-mile Great Canal Walk on April 7, organized by the FreeWalkers. This walk, scheduled as a 4.5-hour walk, goes from Trenton to Princeton. They call it a casual walk to review the trail and get back into a walking groove. More information here.
Saturday March 31 is the D&R Canal Watch 5K Fun Run, staring at 10 a.m. at Washington Crossing State Park. More information at www.canalwatch.org.
The Great Canal Walk, from Trenton to New Brunswick, also welcomes those who want to walk just part of the route. There’s a separate five-mile walk from Upper Ferry Road to the northern end of Titusville, at the junction of River Drive and Route 29. Meet at the intersection of River Drive and Route 29 (just south of Fiddler?s Creek Road). More information at www.canalwatch.org.
On a beautiful sunny (once the fog burned off) Saturday, 13 volunteers organized by the Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association (JORBA) met to re-route an eroded section of the Red Trail near the tennis courts in Mercer County Park. These? dedicated off-road bicyclists know that conservation and maintenance are part of responsible mountain biking. Thanks to Mick Tormey of West Windsor for organizing the work, and to all the volunteers from New Jersey and Pennsylvania who showed that they care about our trails!
Mountain bikers, check out the JORBA web site to find opportunities to maintain trails all over New Jersey. Public – private partnerships, like JORBA working with Mercer County Park officials, allow everyone to enjoy our public assets, and save our taxpayers a few dollars along the way.
From our friends at SMART/Jorba (the volunteers who maintain the off-road bike trails in Mercer County Park):
We will be holding our first trail day of the year on Saturday, March 17 and have a couple of projects planned. Depending on park approval we will be doing a re-route of the red trail east of the tennis courts. Building the trail and re-mediating the old damaged sections hould keep us busy for at least one trail day, if not more.
As is customary, we will meet at the Marina parking lot at 9 a.m. Please bring something to drink. We will have tools and gloves (some bug spray may not be a bad idea).
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Complete Streets policies are being adopted in municipalities throughout Mercer County. Since March 1, Trenton, Hopewell Borough, Princeton Borough and Princeton Township have all adopted Complete Streets, joining West Windsor and Lawrence townships. Will Mercer County be next?
As of this posting, only Monmouth County has adopted a Complete Streets policy, although Essex County was asked to consider the policy last night.
Complete Streets policies make clear that bicyclists, pedestrians and other roadway users are to be accommodated by default, rather than by exception, and will greatly increase safety for all users.
Please join us to encourage Mercer County to adopt Complete Streets – since nearly every major road in West Windsor is a county road, our state and municipal policies are not enough.
Once again, the FreeWalkers are planning a long walk along the D&R Canal towpath past West Windsor as part of their Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge.
The Great Canal Walk, or TR2NB40, is a 40-mile one-day long-distance walk on April 7 that starts at the Delaware River. Do some or all of it, tracing the footsteps of this 175-year old waterway. This is a superb physical and mental challenge and the first event in a series of four walking events aiming to walk across New Jersey following the East Coast Greenway. The event is free and open to the public, and you can join at any point along the route.
Two other walks are planned: the NB2MP10 – The Tween Walk on April 14,? a 10-mile walk from New Brunswick to Metropark, and NJ2NY50 – The Big Walk on May 19, a one-day, 50-mile walk from Metropark to New York Penn Station.
Those interested in taking the Cross-Jersey Challenge have to walk the entire 100-mile New Jersey portion of the East Coast Greenway within the next 12 months and record their efforts on crossjerseywalk.org.You don’t need to participate in any of the three walks.
In addition, the FreeWalkers are planning a grand walk of about 30 miles all along the Hudson River on June 9. Did you know that the entire Hudson River Walkway from Jersey City to the George Washington Bridge is nearly complete and very walkable? Imagine walking all that way and across the GWB then down the Hudson River Greenway along the West Side Highway. Details will be available on freewalkers.org.
The WWBPA invites doctors and other health professionals to walk with us and the public to West Windsor’s Wellness Fair on Saturday, March 31 at 1pm.
Please meet at Maurice Hawk Elementary on Clarksville Road at 12:45pm for a short 10-15 minute walk to the nearby senior center. People are free to walk back individually after visiting the fair.
The WWBPA promotes active living through walking and bicycling – it’s healthy, free and fun! The Wellness Fair is sponsored by West Windsor Departments of Health and Recreation, see westwindsornj.org.
Hope to see you there!
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Please join us at our annual meeting at the municipal center at 7pm on Thursday, March 8. We’ll have the opportunity to recognize all the great work that’s been done in the past year to make West Windsor more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. 2011 was a great year for West Windsor, including a tremendous number of improvements in sidewalks and bike lanes, as well as the recognition of becoming New Jersey’s first Bicycle Friendly Community!
Hope to see you there.
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Monthly meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month via Zoom. We will eventually resume meeting in the West Windsor Municipal Building. Email us at [email protected] if you would like the Zoom code.
Find us at the West Windsor Farmers Market (Vaughn Drive parking lot) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Saturday from May through Halloween.
Some upcoming events along the D&R Canal, one of our area’s great resources for walkers, bikers and joggers:
Complete Streets policies are being adopted in municipalities throughout Mercer County. Since March 1, Trenton, Hopewell Borough, Princeton Borough and Princeton Township have all adopted Complete Streets, joining West Windsor and Lawrence townships. Will Mercer County be next?
The WWBPA invites doctors and other health professionals to walk with us and the public to West Windsor’s Wellness Fair on Saturday, March 31 at 1pm.
Please join us at our annual meeting at the municipal center at 7pm on Thursday, March 8. We’ll have the opportunity to recognize all the great work that’s been done in the past year to make West Windsor more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. 2011 was a great year for West Windsor, including a tremendous number of improvements in sidewalks and bike lanes, as well as the recognition of becoming New Jersey’s first Bicycle Friendly Community!