Go Green Galloway Hears Pitch to Make Town a 'Biking Destination

Galloway Township may soon see a new biking destination, in which families and dedicated mountain bikers may co-exist, set up on county-owned property just north of the

This was the idea pitched by Councilmen Dennis Kleiner and Tony Coppola, representatives of the Jersey Off Road Biking Association (JORBA), Cormac Morrissey of Dixon Associates and local biking enthusiast Gerry Creighton to Go Green Galloway at its meeting Wednesday night, Sept. 14.

Trails currently exist in that spot, but they are not maintained. The only place Galloway residents can ride their bikes is in the street, as they are not allowed to ride them in the skate park.

The groups want to come together to put in one paved trail and one single track cut throught the woods in a 2.7 mile loop.

The paved trail would be for families and beginners, while the other would benefit more experienced riders who are looking to ride on a more technical trail. Access to the trail would come off Jimmie Leeds Road.

The nearest such trails currently exist in Estell Manor.

“I’ve been riding the trails for over a year,” Creighton said. “But there’s overgrowth and it gets to the point where I can’t ride. So I ride and clear the trails myself, but there has to be a way to clear the trails so that everybody can use it.”

Creighton got in touch with Kleiner, who in turn spoke with JORBA about getting the trails set up by the Seaview. JORBA President Frank Harms and Ken Seebeck, an Atlantic County Parks Representative, represented JORBA at Wednesday night’s meeting.

JORBA has been in existence since 1998 and has chapters throughout the state. It is a 501(c)3 nonprofit group whose focus includes building and sustaining multi-use trails and organizing and encouraging volunteerism.

“It’s a multi-use, single track trail,” was how Harms described it. “It’s mountain bike specific, but it could be used for runners and hikers.”

“It’s a stacked loop system,” Seebeck said. “It branches off and accommodates every level of rider.”

Seebeck said the trails would be kept narrow, keeping speeds down, and that when the project is finished, the trails will look “more natural than they do now.”

Go Green Galloway members expressed concern over how much of an impact the proposed project would have on the wildlife in the area.

“We want to make it a bike destination,” said Kleiner, who indicated the impact a bike trail would have on the wildlife would be far smaller than the impact an athletic complex, such as baseball, softball, football or soccer fields would have. “Once we establish that identity, there would be no baseball and softball fields.”

Kleiner added that buffers would be established to prevent those using the trails from ending up in residents’ backyards.

“We would keep them off people’s property so they weren’t being disturbed,” he said.

Any project set up on that property would have to be approved by Atlantic County, which has between $6 and $8 million in coffers to provide to 23 towns. Freeholder Frank Giordano, who was in attendance Wednesday night, said the project has his full support.

“I love the project,” Giordano said. “It has a low impact on cost and a high impact on families. I absolutely support it.”

“It will not cost anything except labor,” said Seebeck, who said a large group of volunteers working together would be able to set up the trail, which would then be maintained by the township and the county.

Boy Scout Troop 97 was in attendance at the meeting, and said it would be willing to volunteer to help with the proposed project.

Morrissey drew up a map for the Go Green Galloway committee to study Wednesday night. He said the proposed project fits into the township’s master bike plan to connect various areas of Galloway Township.

He envisioned bikers coming from all over to use the path.

“It would help revitalize the downtown,” Morrisey said. “People out biking might stop at Gourmet to have a sandwich, or stop at the YoGo Factory or Lindy Hops.  … It falls into our master bike plan, and ties into some additional trails. Maybe it would extend down to Port Republic.

“Galloway could start to become an eco-destination. Once we get that identity, it could become the place to go when you want to get exercise.”

“Estell Manor and Fairmount Park (in Philadelphia) draw from all over,” Coppola said. “People come down from Jim Thorpe to Fairmount Park. People are talking about using that area for fields, but this is a better use, and I think the time is right to move on this.”

The project is in the very early planning stages. Go Green Galloway formed a committee to work on the project Wednesday night, and should the project be approved, there was a possibility it could get under way in the spring.