Park Talk

New Jersey's "Garden State Greenway" boldly combines new paradigms in transportation and recreation.

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Governor McGreevey's vision for the new Garden State Greenway.

"Today, New Jersey puts the 'garden' back into the Garden State." stated McGreevey. "For too long the needs of our communities for quality open space and human-scale transportation have taken a back seat to the needs of the automobile. Through this action we are putting communities back in the front seat, where they belong."

Under the terms of the Governor's order, excess right-of-way will be leased for community gardens and private agricultural purposes, with toll plazas converted to open-air farmers markets. Service centers will be managed as new "community main streets" with cafes, small-scale retail and residential developments linked to adjacent towns through "streetscapes" that include angled parking, bricked sidewalks and separated trail access. Community streets will be embellished with gaslights and plantings, funded under the federal "transportation enhancements" program, to provide security and beauty to greenway visitors and residents alike. Community design will be managed by a council of "placemakers" who will conduct "place audits" to identify and protect essential attributes of community character and context sensitivity.

"Today, New Jersey puts the 'garden' back into the Garden State."

The Governor's action drew immediate fire from the New Jersey Chapter of the American Automobile Association. "This is another example of cowardly capitulation to anti-growth dogma," groused AAA spokesperson Ash Falt. "Where does the governor expect traffic to go, into the Hudson?" Falt's attack was quickly rebutted by the Governor's Press Secretary Forrest Glen. "We've run the numbers," stated Glen, "75% of the traffic simply goes away since the trips were discretionary or to locations served by these greenway communities. The rest are trips under two miles that are accommodated by the new bicycle and pedestrian system itself."

"The promotion of human happiness through placemaking is the guiding principle of the Governor's bold action," stated Glen. "This is not anti-growth, this is pro-place. When we looked at the parkway through the lens of place, everything changed."