Middletown Mayor, Freeholders Want Henry Hudson Trail Reopened

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Tony Perry, the mayor of Middletown, wrote to New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal this week, asking him to reopen Henry Hudson Trail, which was closed as part of Gov. Phil Murphy's shutdown of all state and county parks to flatten the coronavirus case curve.

In his plan to reopen the state, Murphy said Monday he hopes "sooner or later" that parks can reopen, saying he may agree with the argument that they're essential "for mental health and other reasons."

But Perry's concern is not just about passive recreation: Henry Hudson Trail is a paved, 24-mile long trail that runs from the Aberdeen/Keyport border to the Atlantic Highlands/Highlands border. It roughly follows Rt. 36, a high-traffic road that Perry said many people are now forced to walk on.

Rt. 36 is also notoriously deadly for pedestrians.

"If Henry Hudson Trail continues to remain closed under your directive, the residents of Middletown will have no choice but to walk along a State Highway, undoubtedly putting them in harm's way," Perry wrote in his letter, sent Monday. "Furthermore, I struggle to understand how marinas are classified as essential for recreational purposes, but a multi-use trail along a state highway remains closed."

Indeed, in this part of Monmouth County, the Henry Hudson Trail is a way of life and functions more like a sidewalk than a park: When school is in session, teens, tweens and young people are often seeing walking along the trail, and many use it to commute by foot back and forth to school, friends' houses, parks and local part-time jobs.

People young and old also use the trail to walk to NJ Transit bus stops and local convenience stores.

"Despite its name, Henry Hudson Trail is used for more than just recreational activities," wrote Perry. "It is used as a safety route for residents to travel along New Jersey Route 36. Many parts of the trail provide the only sidewalks for people to safely walk to public transportation, grocery stores and local pharmacies."

Over the years, Patch has chronicled the numerous deaths of pedestrians hit and killed while walking along Rt. 36:

• Atlantic Highlands Couple Out Walking Killed In Rt. 36 DUI Crash: Police (March 2019) (The couple was well-known local residents John and Barbara Grogan, memorialized in this article.)
• Pedestrian Killed in Collision on Rt. 36 in Middletown Is ID'd: William Lesser, 27, from Atlantic Highlands (September 2014)
• 60-Year-Old Woman Killed In Fatal Accident In Hazlet; Rt. 36 Partially Closed (Sept. 2014)
• Mathew Adams, 17, Killed Crossing Rt. 36 into Hazlet(January 2012)
• Person Killed In Hwy. 36 Crash In Middletown Thursday (May 2018) (This was a single-car accident, where the car drove into a pole.)

Middletown Mayor Perry called for the Attorney General and Gov. Murphy to reopen the Henry Hudson Trail "effective immediately."

The Monmouth County Freeholders also want the trail to be reopened. They said the Henry Hudson Trail is more of a "transit way" than a recreational park.

"Meaning, many patrons use it to get from one place to another to perform essential functions, such as going to the grocery store, pharmacy, to get to their place of employment as essential personnel or to access public transportation," said Freeholders Tom Arnone and County Park liaison Freeholder Lillian Burry on Tuesday. "The complete closure of this transit way causes serious safety issues that cannot be ignored."

"Further, we strongly urge Governor Murphy to reconsider the closure of all county parks," they added.