The Trenton Trails subcommittee of the Mercer County Action Team, under the sponsorship of the Trenton Green Team, has launched a community engagement program featuring a variety of walks in the capital city. The walks, open to all, are set to take place four or five times per month through October.
The goal is to invite the people of Trenton and beyond to enjoy getting together on trails in Trenton via a series of volunteer-led walks from one to three miles long in the new program called “Trenton Walks!”
“This effort is being undertaken in the belief that walking — especially in a group — is a fun and healthy way to enjoy the outdoors, to be among friends, neighbors and new acquaintances, and get to know Trenton up close and personal,” said Larry Paul, the Trenton Green Team chair and executive sponsor of the Trenton Walks! Program.
The volunteer-led walks will be scheduled on both weekdays and weekends and at different times of day. The routes will also vary: Some walks will go through downtown Trenton, others through Cadwalader Park, along the D&R Canal State Park, from Roberto Clemente Park to Mulberry Street, and along the Assunpink Greenway.
“Trenton features some great parks, streets, bridges and greenways that people can enjoy — together — on these guided walks,” said Corey Hannigan, leader of the Circuit Trails Mercer County Action Team (MCAT), which works to advance segments of an 800-mile regional network of shared-use walking and biking paths connecting people to jobs, communities, parks, and waterways. “We invite people to join us and explore our capital city through a trail system that is getting more robust every month.”
The MCAT Trenton Trails Subcommittee, which manages the walking campaign on a day-to-day basis, is committed to working with the public sector as well as nonprofits and private citizens to continue enhancing trails in Trenton, according to Tim Brill, Central Jersey project manager for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation and a leader of the subcommittee.
For those who might be intimidated by the prospect of walking rather than driving, the Trenton Trails subcommittee offers a new approach to reassure people about safety while walking.
“We are asking all walkers in the program to embrace our new pledge, called Walk the Talk,” said Becky Taylor, another Trenton Trails subcommittee leader and former co-president of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail. This credo, similar to Scout pledges, commits each walker to have every other walker’s back. If there’s an issue on the trail, whether it’s health, social, or safety-related, walkers promise to help fellow walkers in distress. Issues can be resolved together, perhaps by simply talking through an issue respectfully, or sharing a water bottle, or if necessary, calling local police for help.
People who have volunteered to lead walks come from different walks of life.
• Gulu Brewer, vice chair for the Trenton Green Team and Community and Resident Engagement Coordinator for Isles, leads a monthly walk starting at Roberto Clemente Park.
• MacKenzie Piggott, State Trails coordinator for the Green Acres Program at N.J. Department of Environmental Protection, invites people to join her at the DEP entryway at 401 East State Street for walks along the Assunpink.
• Jacque Howard, media guru with Trenton365, will take people through downtown Trenton, stopping briefly at local eateries, and documenting the experiences as they go.
• Shereyl Snider, community organizer for East Trenton Collaborative, will take people through her neck of the woods as well as through other parts of the city.
• Zeke Weston, policy coordinator for New Jersey Future, will lead people across some famous bridges via the New Jersey Statehouse to Morrisville, Pennsylvania and back.
The Trenton Walks group hopes that by participating in these walks and talks, local Trenton residents and workers alike will see first-hand the benefits of the wonderful trails and green spaces Trenton has to offer and will support efforts to build more, as Trenton emerges as a hub for trails in the region.
The upcoming schedule of walks is as follows; the schedule for August through October will be announced once it is finalized:
• Wednesday, June 26, 11 a.m. Led by Jacque Howard, media guru at Trenton365. Leave from Hub 13 co-working space at 13 South Front Street, through downtown Trenton to Mill Hill and back. 1.2 miles round trip.
• Saturday, June 29, 9:30 a.m. Led by Becky Taylor, Trenton Trails subcommittee leader and former co-president of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail, and Shereyl Snider, East Trenton Collaborative community organizer. Meet at the intersection of Cadwalader Drive and Glenwood Avenue and walk about 1 mile through Cadwalader Park to Ellarslie Museum and back.
• Wednesday, July 3, noon. Led by Zeke Weston, N.J. Future policy coordinator, and Tim Brill, Central Jersey project manager for the N.J. Conservation Foundation and MCAT Trenton Trails subcommittee leader. Leave from N.J. Justice Complex to Morrisville via Trenton Makes and Calhoun Street Bridges via State House and back. 2.7 miles round trip.
• Thursday, July 11, 5:15 p.m. Led by Gulu Brewer, vice chair of the Trenton Green Team and community and resident engage coordinator for Isles. Leave from Roberto Clemente Park, D&R to Mulberry Street and back. 3 miles round trip.
• Monday, July 15, 4:30 p.m. Led by Mackenzie Piggott, State Trails coordinator for the Green Acres Program at N.J. Department of Environmental Protection. Meet at the NJDEP entryway at 401 East State Street and walk along the Assunpink Greenway to Stacey Park and back. 2.4 miles round trip.
• Saturday, July 20, 9:30 a.m. Led by Shereyl Snider, East Trenton Collaborative community organizer, Becky Taylor, Trenton Trails subcommittee leader and former co-president of the Lawrence Hopewell Trail. Meet at the intersection of Sherman and Courtland Avenues and walk toward Princeton on the D&R Canal State Park for about 2 miles round trip.
• Wednesday, July 24, 11 a.m. Led by Jacque Howard, media guru at Trenton365. Leave from Hub 13 co-working space at 13 South Front Street, through downtown Trenton to Mill Hill and back. 1.2 miles round trip.
Visit gmtma.org/trail-happenings to see the complete calendar and maps for each walk.
For more information, contact: Larry Paul at 609-647-3563 or trentongreenteam609@gmail.com.
The Trenton Walks program features seven routes of varying lengths through different urban environments, each led by a volunteer from the community.,
