Phase: Feasibility/ Local Concept Development (LCD)

Proposal: Mercer County is working to study a trail alignment which would allow for the creation of a safe and continuous multi-municipal trail facility in the heart of Mercer County. The forthcoming Local Concept Development (LCD) study will look at an alignment to connect the Johnson Trolley Trail in Lawrence/Ewing Townships to Mercer County Park in West Windsor. Ultimately the trail would also connect to the existing D&R Canal Trail at the Whitehead Road crossing, would pass along the Hamilton Train Station, and would utilize the existing bicycle lanes and sidewalk along Flock Road and Paxson Ave to bring pedestrians and cyclists to Mercer County Park. Additional alternative routes may be considered that connect key nodes of interest. Several residential neighborhoods, open spaces, businesses and educational institutions would also be see increased connections.

Draft Purpose and Need: There are currently no continuous pedestrian or bicycle facilities to connect residents of Ewing, Lawrence, Hamilton and West Windsor. Between Municipal, County, and NJDOT jurisdiction, there has never been a comprehensive effort to create continuous facilities across all jurisdictional lines. This project aims to identify a safe and continuous corridor that will serve as a primary east-west spine trail for the central heart of Mercer County. Once developed, this trail would serve as a spine from which other smaller local connections could link into, thus creating a larger non-vehicular network.

Ultimately this spine would connect residents from multiple communities across four municipalities to local open spaces, parks, local businesses, employment opportunities, educational institutions, and more.

Background: In 2024 Mercer County successfully applied for and received a $175,000 grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s (DVRPC) Regional Trails Program. DVRPC's Regional Trails Program provides planning assistance and financial support to trail developers, counties, municipalities and nonprofit organizations to complete The Circuit, Greater Philadelphia's 800-plus-mile network of multi-use trails. With financial support from the William Penn Foundation, the Regional Trails Program has provided $25 million in funding to over 150 trail planning, design, and construction projects to date.

With our partners, the goal of this effort is to create a long distance “trunk line” which additional trails, footpaths, sidepaths, bicycle lanes and sidewalks will ultimately be able to connect into. There are currently no continuous and safe east-west corridors for pedestrians and cyclists in the central heart of the County. As such, this multi-municipal effort led by Mercer County will work to bring trail advocates, non-profits, residents, business owners, municipal partners, NJDOT staff, and County staff together to identify a continuous and safe corridor.

The conceptual trail would connect several key destinations between the Johnson Trolley Trail and Mercer County Park. It would connect the Johnson Trolley Line Trail with the D&R Canal Trail, both of which are significant north-south regional connectors that offer access to significant portions of Mercer County. The Johnson Trolley Line is also currently undergoing a study to determine appropriate trail extensions. More information on that effort can be found here.

The conceptual trail would also continue on to connect the Hamilton Train Station and would continue on to the existing bicycle lanes and sidewalks along Flock Road. From that point, cyclists and pedestrians can use the existing bike lanes and sidewalk along Flock and Paxson Ave to reach Mercer County Park in West Windsor.

As the network develops, local businesses may be able to capitalize on the new trail network. A new trail user market may allow for new business opportunities catering to needs of trail users and the local economy may be able to capitalize on special events that could be organized along various routes.

The Cross County Connector Trail can be broken into 4 potential segments:

• Segment 1 would consist of on-road bicycle lanes and sidewalk along the Whitehead Road extension from Ewingville Road (CR 636), down to where the Johnson Trolley Trail & Whitehead Road Extension intersect (County will demarcate bicycle lanes when appropriate. Existing sidewalk facilities already exist).
• Segment 2 would consist of off-road facilities and would run from the Johnson Trolley Trail where it intersects the Whitehead Road Extension to the Whitehead Road roundabout at Route 1 Business.
• Segment 2 would consist of on-road bicycle lanes and sidewalk and run from the Whitehead Road roundabout to the D&R Canal Trail crossing at Whitehead Road.
• Segment 3 would consist of off-road facilities and run from the D&R Canal crossing at Whitehead Road, past the Hamilton Train Station and to the Flock Road/ Quakerbridge Road intersection.
• Segment 4 would consist of on-road bicycle lanes and sidewalk and run down Flock Road and Paxson Ave to Mercer County Park (on-road bicycle lanes and sidewalk facilities already exist).

Anticipated Project Schedule: Feasibility/ Concept Development Phase to begin shortly. Project is anticipated to take 12 months and should be fully completed by Spring of 2026.

Information: For further information, please contact:

Matthew Zochowski, PP/AICP, Principal Planner, Mercer County

mzochowski@mercercounty.org