For over a decade, E&LP has worked with the Mercer County Park Commission (MCPC)[1] to create and implement the sustainable masterplan for the Mercer Meadows Park System, and a “centerpiece”[2] of the park as well as the Lawrence Hopewell Trail (LHT) that runs through it, is the 500-ft long Stony Brook Pedestrian Bridge, which was opened with a virtual ceremony on June 30th.[3] According to Brian Hughes, Mercer County Executive, “‘The opening of the bridge in time for the July Fourth weekend could not have come at a better time [and] this bridge is the perfect metaphor for the long-standing partnership that created the LHT, which bridges communities; state, county, and local governments; corporate partners, and land preservation groups.’”[4] E&LP supports such partnerships and has worked with many of these groups to improve social and ecological resilience by designing green infrastructure shaped through community engagement.[5]
Mercer Meadows features both active and passive recreational elements while promoting environmental conservation and stewardship, and the Stony Brook Pedestrian Bridge will enhance those activities and goals by improving the safety of access to its western section. Moreover, the bridge helps complete the #14 trail segment[6] and advance the three-year construction schedule[7] of the LHT, a “22-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail and transportation corridor through public and private land in Lawrence and Hopewell Townships [and] part of the Circuit Trails[8], an 800-mile network of bicycle and pedestrian trails that, when completed, will connect across a nine-county region in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.”[9]
We look forward to designing and developing more projects like the Stony Brook Pedestrian Bridge with the MCPC, and we are thankful for the opportunity to provide Trail and Park Design, Site and Drainage System Design, NJDEP Permitting, Wastewater System Design, Structural Design, and Construction Administration. E&LP is always proud to work on parks and recreation projects that improve the quality of life for so many as well as the health of the ecosystem, and we are excited about the outdoor opportunities provided by Mercer Meadows, “one of the most beautiful parks in the northeast … [and] a favorite destination of the many fans of the LHT.”[10]
[1] https://www.mercercountyparks.org/#!/
[2] https://lhtrail.org/coming-soon-the-stony-brook-pedestrian-bridge-and-new-landscapes-to-explore/
[3] https://youtu.be/06XStEEGALw
[4] https://patch.com/new-jersey/lawrenceville/lawrence-hopewell-pennington-makr-opening-stony-brook-bridge
[5] https://elp-inc.com/northwest-resiliency-video/
[6] https://lhtrail.org/project/mercer-meadows-rosedale/
[7] https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lawrence-hopewell-pennington-mark-opening-of-stony-brook-bridge/ar-BB16GjeF
[8] https://circuittrails.org/
[9] https://communitynews.org/2020/07/10/stony-brook-bridge-connects-mercer-meadows-lawrence-hopewell-trail/
[10] https://patch.com/new-jersey/lawrenceville/lawrence-hopewell-pennington-makr-opening-stony-brook-bridge
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