Burlington County Receives New Regional Trail Grants

Burlington County plans to expand its regional trails network will be advanced with nearly $500,000 in new regional trail grants.

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for Burlington County and eight other counties in South Jersey and Pennsylvania, announced this month it had awarded Burlington County grants of $85,000 for a feasibility study and $400,000 towards design for two new trail segments. Both grants were among $4.55 million awarded for trail projects in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as part of the agency’s Regional Trails Program.

The grants are funded by the nonprofit William Penn Foundation.

The first grant will fund a study of a feasible route for an approximately 9-mile segment of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail from Rowan College at Burlington County in Mount Laurel to Historic Smithville Park in Eastampton. The study will analyze ways to navigate across multiple branches of the Rancocas Creek, along with several major roadways in Mount Laurel, Hainesport, Mount Holly, Lumberton and Eastampton.  In addition, the County will use a portion of the grant to study a Mount Holly to Medford trail spur to connect to both communities’ downtown business districts.

The second grant will fund a portion of the engineering design costs for a 4-mile trail segment through Mount Laurel from the college across Route 38 to the Melvin and Florence Levin Nature Conservancy off Centerton Road. 

Both trails are expected to become part of the Circuit Trails network planned throughout South Jersey and Pennsylvania.

“Burlington County’s parks and outdoor spaces are among our most important assets, and we are excited by the opportunities to expand the County’s network of trails into additional areas,” said Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Allison Eckel, the liaison to the County Department of Resource Conservation and Parks. “These new trails will enhance our parks and open spaces and improve mobility throughout our county.”

“Our County has already created more than 50 miles of regional and interior park trails, largely with grant funding, and we’ve seen how these investments positively impact community health, quality of life, and economic growth without draining the County tax dollars we depend on to preserve open space,” added Commissioner Randy Brolo. “Every new trail we create enhances safety and mobility across the county and ensures our community parks, open spaces, downtowns, and historic sites are accessible to all.”

Expanding Burington County’s trail network

Burlington County has already received and invested more than $28 million in grants towards trail projects, including the first 4-mile segment of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail between Amico Island Park in Delran and Pennington Park in Delanco.  

The first segment of the Rancocas Creek Greenway Trail opened in 2022, and the County is currently studying potential routes to extend the trail from Pennington Park in Delanco across Route 130 to Willingboro Lakes Park and Rainbow Meadow Park in Delran, as well as a separate study analyzing possible routes for a segment between Historic Smithville Park across Route 206 to the Birmingham section of Pemberton Township.

Some of the other trail projects in various stages of planning and design include:

Earlier this year, the County also completed an initial study for creating another 50-miles of trails through Mount Laurel, Moorestown, Evesham, Maple Shade, Medford, Tabernacle, Southampton and Shamong. The Southern Regional Trails Feasibility Report described potential routes, objectives, benefits, and challenges for the trails, concluding that the trails were feasible but that it would likely take significant time and resources for the County to fully develop.

The planned feasibility study for a trail between RCBC and the Levin Nature Conservancy would be the first detailed planning for a potential Southern Regional Trail segment.

“Burlington County is proud to be a leader in creating trails and improving mobility, safety and accessibility,” said Commissioner Eckel. “These projects will provide valuable outdoor recreation opportunities and create key connections between municipal and County parks, downtowns, natural resources, and historical sites. We’re excited to accept this funding and begin advancing these new trails forward from planning and design to construction and ultimately completion.”