A new segment of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway opened Monday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Jersey City.
The half-mile section connects the Port Liberte residential community to Liberty National Golf Course and Liberty State Park.
The Hudson River Waterfront Walkway is a state-mandated project created in 1984 to connect municipalities via a path running 18.5 miles along the river from Bayonne to Fort Lee. About 11 miles of the walkway have been completed, and another segment, a pedestrian bridge connecting Jersey City to Hoboken, is scheduled to open this summer. Developers who build on the river are required to add to the walkway.
The portion that opened on Monday starts in the southwest corner of Liberty State Park near the public boat launch parking lot. It continues past the Liberty National Club House and Golf Course, proceeds over a planked path through a new nature sanctuary, and then merges onto a path ending in a cul-de-sac in Port Liberte. It is opened 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The section was funded and built by Liberty National Golf Course, and one of its founders, Dan Fireman, was on hand for the ceremony.
“We’re excited that we can be a part of this walkway, and help extend the vision of the state and Jersey City, and making it available for the community so that others can enjoy it,” Fireman said.
Healy hopes to see completion soon
Mayor Jerramiah Healy also lauded the opening of the new walkway section and the walkway as a whole, which he hopes will be finished during the four years of his next term that begins July 1.
“When it’s completed, you can walk, bike, or in my case, cab it from the southern tip of Bayonne to the George Washington Bridge,” Healy said.
Sam Pesin, president of The Friends of Liberty State Park, spoke of how the walkway is a reminder of the work carried out by his late father, Morris, and other activists who created the park. He also acknowledged the work of the Hudson River Waterfront Conservancy, which led the movement for the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway starting in the late 1970s.
“This unique half-mile segment in the planned 18.5 mile waterfront walkway goes through restored marshland and will uplift the spirits of people of all ages,” Pesin said.
However, the walkway would be nothing without people walking, running, or biking on it.
Jersey City residents Ken and Denise Wadleigh came to walk the section after reading about it in the newspapers.
“I love what they did here and now it gives us a place to walk and look at nature,” Ken Wadleigh said.
Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonrreporter.com.