Posts by Debra Karrat

Thanks to the indefatigable Jeff Hankinson, the north end of the Park Line has been further beautified and will be ready for a lawn next spring. Construction at both ends this year limited activity to the park, as that winds down, park access will become easy again. Access points are on the north side of Morris Ave by Lower Overlook road and the other entrance is next to the parking lot of 10 Upper Overlook road (across from Salerno Duane dealership). More to come…
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The Summit Park Line Foundation is offering a unique opportunity for sponsorship and naming rights of one of 4 benches on the completed phase I of The Summit Park Line trail. The benches are utilized often on the trail, allowing residents and Overlook Hospital workers the opportunity to rest or gather with family or co-workers. The four benches for sponsorship are available for a cost of $2,000 each, including recognition of the donor(s) with a beautiful engraved metal plate for perpetuity. The Summit Park Line Foundation’s mission is to assist the city of Summit in creating a pedestrian linear park
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Compiled by Rory Robinson, National Park Service – Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance – June,  2010 rory_robinson@nps.gov, 330-657-2951 Expenditures by Residents – Spending by local residents on greenway related activities supports recreation oriented businesses and employment as well as other businesses which are patronized by greenway and trail users. A 2004 Study of the 45- mile long Washington & Old Dominion Trail, a transportation and recreation corridor running from Arlington to Purcellville, VA, finds that an estimated 1.7 million adult users put about $7 million directly in the northern Virginia economy. The estimated 1.6 million local visits accounted for about
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What the Rails and Trails mean to Ryan Chao, President of Rails-To-Trails Conservancy Watch below:
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“A home with a trail running very close behind it with private trail access across a well-screened yard might be much more desirable as a result.” An article in AmericanTrails.org: There is a substantial body of literature confirming that natural resource-based parks and open space substantially enhance the value of proximate properties. These findings can appropriately be extrapolated to greenway trails in contexts where they are accompanied by extended tranquil views which account for the increases in proximate property values associated with parks and open space. However, in other cases where the greenway trail consists of a fairly narrow urban
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SUMMIT, NJ – Summit’s Broad Street Redevelopment Plan is now official, as the Council Members approved it in a unanimous roll call vote at their May 7 meeting, after hearing from a half-dozen citizens. Marjorie Fox, Ward 2 Council Member, introduced the ordinance to adopt the redevelopment plan, which had already received the approval of the Planning Board. Former Summit Free Public Library board member Vivien Hardy, Oak Knoll Road, expressed her enjoyment of seeing democracy in action, but worried about the plan’s possible effect on the Library. She noted a deed restriction on the property limits it to library use.
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Many thanks to everyone who attended the Summit Park Line workshop this past Thursday at the Summit First Aid Squad Building in Summit. What an incredible turnout for the community! There was standing-room-only and a very engaged, supportive audience. Those in attendance included: Mayor Radest Council President David Naidu Celgene representatives Park Line board members & representatives Summit EMS Overlook Hospital A Rahway Valley railroad historic preservationist Union County Freeholder Bruce Bergen Six Common Council members Nationally recognized rails-to-trails architect, Bob Thomas Many spoke or offered presentations. Bob shared over 40 years of experience building trails in communities across the United States. He
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Led by Alan Lieber, President of Overlook Medical Center, employees of Atlantic Health System enjoyed a brisk walk on the Summit Park Line on July 17th, a beautiful summer day. The walk was organized by the Employee Wellness group of Atlantic Health and the Park Line Foundation. The large group covered both the woodland trail and Phase 1 of the rail trail. Future walks are being planned with the Overlook “Walks with Leaders” series – the proximity to Overlook Hospital affords employees and visitors to take a stroll at their pleasure.        
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