It’s official—Newark has a new bike path

5:20 p.m., July 24, 2003--The 1.5-mile James F. Hall Trail, named after the first director of Newark’s Department of Parks and Recreation, opened to the public on Wednesday afternoon, July 23, with a dedication and ribbon-cutting ceremony.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of the James F. Hall Trail held at Kells Park in Newark. Those officiating included (from left): Delaware Lt. Gov. John Carney; Newark Department of Parks and Recreation Director Charlie Emerson; Allison Hall Swenson, daughter of the late James F. Hall; and Newark Mayor Hal Godwin.

As Amtrak trains roared by just yards away, more than 100 guests, including helmet-wearing cyclists of all ages, joined government and UD representatives in a shady corner of Kells Park to pay tribute to Mr. Hall, who died in 1999, and his vision of a car-free pathway that would serve the needs of walkers, cyclists and others in the Newark community.

The Hall family was represented at the trail opening ceremony by Mr. Hall’s daughter, Allison Swenson, and his brother, Dick Hall.

“My dad believed in conservation and preservation. He was an avid bicyclist and would have been proud to see this project through to its completion,” Swenson said. “This is an exciting and personally moving day for me, and it thrills me to know that the trail will be used by his friends and neighbors.”

Dick Hall noted that his brother loved his job, and that he was always talking about new parks and projects. “I’m sure that he is looking down on us, and that he is very honored and proud,” Hall said.

Swenson later joined Delaware Lt. Gov. John Carney in cutting a 50-foot length of shinning blue ribbon held by Newark Mayor Hal Godwin as the ceremonies came to a close, and the James F. Hall Trail was officially opened to the public.

In his capacity as mayor and master of ceremonies for the occasion, Godwin remarked that the Newark community can be proud of the trail, as both a recreational facility and an valued asset to the city’s municipal infrastructure.

“We are gathered here to celebrate something that is dedicated to nonmotorized transportation in Newark,” Godwin said. “We also celebrate the life and the vision of Jim Hall.”

Godwin noted that under Mr. Hall’s 30 years of service, the Newark Department of Parks and Recreation grew from an idea of then-mayor Norma Handloff in 1968, into a system that currently manages 29 parks spread over 400 acres throughout the city.

The mayor also noted that the new bike pathway—in conjunction with the proposed north-south trail along the old Pomeroy rail line just east of South Chapel Street up to Main Street—would provide a safe, alternative means of getting around town for the many UD students who call Newark their home during the academic year.

UD President David P. Roselle said student safety concerns was a major factor in the donation of two acres of UD land to the trail.

“This is why, when we were called upon to dedicate some land to this project, we said, ‘Yes,’” Roselle said. “We can always be counted on to further the [north-south] spur that will be connected at some point to the University.”

Willett Kempton, associate professor of marine studies, is co-chair of the Newark Bicycle Committee with Jerome Lewis, director of UD’s Institute for Public Administration.

UD also was represented in the vision, design and funding of the projects through the efforts of several employees as members of the Newark Bicycle Committee, including co-chairpersons Willett Kempton, associate professor of marine studies, and Jerome Lewis, director of the Institute for Public Administration.

Other UD community members serving on the committee include: Cindy Genau, extension agent II in Cooperative Extension; Gerald Kauffman, water resources engineer, Water Resources Agency; Rick Armitage, director of government relations; James Grimes, senior assistant director of public safety; and Lisa Morland, policy specialist II, Institute for Public Administration.

Besides its involvement with the James F. Hall Trail and the planning for the north-south link up along the Pomeroy Line, the committee also is planning the development of the Frazier Field Bikeway, which would run from the Newark Shopping Center to North College Avenue.

“It is great to see this project realized and to see so great a turnout here today,” Kempton said. “It took a lot of people working together to make it happen.”

Lewis noted that while opening ceremonies are a time for community celebration, there is much that goes on behind the scenes to plan, develop and complete projects like the James F. Hall Trail.

“These things look easy, but it takes a lot of persistence and detailed planning to make it all happen,” Lewis said. “It means going to a lot of meetings and dealing with a lot of issues.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photos by Duane Perry

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