The Greenway (formerly known as the Essex-Hudon Greenway) is an approximately nine-mile, 100-foot-wide linear corridor spanning Essex and Hudson Counties through eight municipalities (Montclair, Glen Ridge, Bloomfield, Belleville, Newark, Kearny, Secaucus, Jersey City). The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection acquired this property from Norfolk Southern on August 19, 2022. The Department of Environmental Protection’s vision is to convert this blighted corridor into a thriving recreation and transportation corridor traversing two of the most densely populated Counties in New Jersey – and in the nation.
With over 7,850 residents per square mile – approximately 1.5 million people in the surrounding area – the Greenway seeks to provide outdoor recreation and alternative transportation opportunities to over 16 percent of New Jersey’s population. In this heavily developed region, the Greenway is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Greenway represents a unique and potentially transformative opportunity to create a linear multi-modal recreational and transit corridor enabling seamless walking, biking, and transit opportunities between Montclair and Jersey City while serving as a catalyst for environmental improvements and economic development in the adjacent communities. It stands to become a destination unto itself as a place for exercise, recreation, and access to the great outdoors. The Department of Environmental Protection anticipates that the project will spur new enterprises and support existing businesses in areas in need of economic growth and redevelopment.
The Greenway will connect residents to parks, schools, hospitals, and business districts, and offer commuters a way to bypass some of New Jersey’s most congested roadways. The Greenway passes near the Newark Light Rail and NJ Transit’s Frank R. Lautenberg Secaucus Junction train station, which provides direct access to New York’s Penn Station.
Town Square is contributing its expertise in community outreach, and the successful planning of the future programming, financing, and management of the Greenway.
