ECGA's Latest News
- ECG in Pennsylvania gets big share of $23 million federal TIGER grant! Get details here.
- Critical Public Hearing March 24 - Trail in The NJ Meadowlands? NJ Transit is building 2 new rail bridges across the Hackensack River, and taking 2.5 acres of parkland from Hudson County to build a new rail yard. By law, they must give back to the County. State law mandates that NJ Transit must compensate Hudson County by providing one of the following: either (1) double the acreage being taken, (2) double the dollar value of the taken land, or (3) a combination of replacement land and financial compensation. We want that mitigation to take the form of 2 miles of ECG trail in Hudson County, including a bike & ped path on one of the new bridges, to bring the ECG off-road from Belleville Turnpike in Kearny to West Side Avenue in Jersey City, adjacent to Hudson Generating Station (see map 1 and map 2). Two miles of trail, in a 20’ wide corridor, comes to 5 acres: that’s double the land being taken, meeting the letter of the law.
But to accomplish this, we need your help. On Wednesday, March 24, from 6 to 8:30 pm, there will be a critical public hearing at Secaucus Town Hall (1203 Paterson Plank Rd; directions by car or bus here). We urge your attendance. If there is a strong show of support for a bike-ped facility, we can get NJDEP and Hudson County on our side, creating a full-court press on NJ Transit. Public support is imperative; without it, success is unlikely.
In the 18 years since the East Coast Greenway was conceived, this is the best opportunity we've seen to build part of the ECG across the Meadowlands. Can we count on your support? Please contact mike@greenway.org if you have questions, or to let us know that you'll be there.
 ECGA Appoints Dennis Markatos-Soriano as new Executive Director. “The East Coast Greenway is an iconic project symbolizing a green economic recovery in our country,” commented Mr. Markatos‐Soriano. “I am pleased to join this vibrant community and contribute to its ongoing growth. Karen Votava was an innovator in establishing this organization, and I am delighted to carry on her vision.”
Karen Votava, founder and incumbent Executive Director reflects “I am very pleased that a person of Dennis’s stature, experience and enthusiasm is taking the reins of the Alliance”.
Events
In the News
- New ECG Bridge, spanning I-95, coming to Maine; to be built by Maine Turnpike Authority. See pg. 5
- Progress on the Greenway; Ferry reconnects Fernandina Beach, St. Marys
- Sadie & Dan McCrady visit Philadelphia suburbs this week, covered in the Bucks County Courier Times. Or check out the clipping (if only for the picture!)
- The Baltimore Sun blog covers Sadie & Dan McCrady's ride.
- Sun Energy Transition blog gives thanks for greenways.
- The Daily News of Newburyport in northeastern Massachusetts reports that construction on the Salisbury's Eastern Marsh Rail Trail will begin soon, converting an abandoned rail line as a part of the Border to Boston transportation initiative.
- Caitlin Elsaesser covers the East Coast Greenway in Maine for Visit Shore Magazine
- Read write-ups by Ken Valenti, Alan Fleisig, New York Times, and The Westchester County Business Journal on the Westchester County Bike Summit.
- East Coast Greenway/Florida is getting some attention: 1) The News Leader scoops Amelia Island's proposed bike path, and 2) ECGA's Herb Hiller take you on the inugural St. Johns River-to-Sea Loop ride in the January/February 2009 issue of American bicyclist, the League of American Bicyclists' bimonthly magazine. Then look at the 2009 Close the Gaps Tour description and join the Close the Gaps Club to cycle this beautiful route yourself!
- The South Magazine covers the Georgia/Northeast Florida Workshop on Wheels -- read with envy.
- Bo Dean, chairman of Wilmington, North Carolina's Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee writes about the benefits of East Coast Greenway building in the Star News of Wilmington.
- ECGA Executive Director Karen Votava talks to NPR on how to use the stimulus package dollars to support the East Coast Greenway. Click to see the East Coast Greenway stimulus project list.
- Bikes Belong awards the city of Ellsworth, Maine a grant to build part of the East Coast Greenway
- Connecticut Legislators Told to Focus on Mass Transit
- ECGA Connecticut Chair, Bill O'Neill, talks about a ride from New Haven to Hartford on YouTube
- Chuck Flink, Chair of ECGA's Board of Trustees, writes about Closing the Gaps to complete the East Coast Greenway in the Fall 2008 edition of American Trails
- HadenStanziale, a planning, landscape architecture, and civil enginnering firm, receives an award for East Coast Greenway design from the North Carolina chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects
- Green Connector, by Martin Zimmerman, August 2008, published in Urban Land magazine, reproduced with the permission of the Urban Land Institute
- See News and Publications for more press coverage
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