Tag: launch

Bound Brook, NJ gets Canoe/Kayak Riverfront Access

On Saturday May 5 several partners helped the Borough of Bound Brook inaugurate its first kayak/canoe launch site. A partnership between the Borough and New Jersey American Water (NJAW) resulted in an access agreement to allow recreational use of private land, giving paddlers a new access point to the Raritan River. The agreement between the Borough and NJAW allows the public to put their watercraft into the Raritan in an area owned by NJAW under the Queens Bridge in the Borough.

Bound Brook Borough Administrator Hector Herrera and Council President Abel Gomez were joined by representatives of South Bound Brook; Somerset County; New Jersey American Water; Pfizer on behalf of Wyeth Holdings; the Raritan Riverkeeper; National Park Service Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance; and members of the public for the ribbon cutting and launch ceremony on a beautiful spring day. Signs explaining how to use the access site with a map of downtown Bound Brook greeted launch users in English and Spanish.

Council President Abel Gomez noted: “This launch site for kayaks and canoes is part of a bigger plan to restore public access to the Raritan River. In 2015, the Borough’s Economic Development Advisory Committee published Riverfront Access Plan for Pedestrians and Bicyclists. This plan puts forth strategy and initiatives for a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian network to connect downtown commercial areas with the riverfront. The launch site is another element that makes Bound Brook a destination area.”

In addition to the access to the River for paddlers, the Plan calls for the creation of a park along the waterfront from Queens Bridge to Middle Brook, including the development of a riverfront trail system for pedestrians and bicyclists using inactive rail corridor and a levee system. Raritan Riverkeeper Bill Schultz explained that the “launch site will mean that paddlers can now travel all the way from Bound Brook downstream to Perth Amboy and the Raritan Bay, about 18 miles. Raritan River recreation complements the land-based recreation currently available on the south side of the river, as part of the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park.”

The Borough is receiving technical assistance from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program. The NPS helped form a steering committee made of local stakeholders, including New Jersey American Water, Somerset County Planning Division, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Pfizer on behalf of Wyeth Holdings, and members of the Bough’s Economic Development Advisory Committee.

The Riverfront Access Plan is available at: http://boundbrooknj.org/MasterPlan/RiverAccessPlan

For more information about the project, contact Bound Brook Borough Administrator
Hector Herrera at 732-893-8520 or hherrera@boundbrook-nj.org

New Launch Site along Raritan at Bound Brook

Article and photo by Hector Herrera

A partnership between the Borough of Bound Brook and New Jersey American Water will give kayak and canoe enthusiasts a new access point to the Raritan River. The agreement between the Borough and New Jersey American Water allows the public to put their watercraft into the River in an area owned by NJAW under the Queens Bridge in the Borough.

“This launch site for kayaks and canoes is part of a bigger plan to restore public access to the Raritan River. In 2015, the Borough’s Economic Development Advisory Committee published Riverfront Access Plan for Pedestrians and Bicyclists,” said Bound Brook Council President Abel Gomez.

“This plan puts forth strategy and initiatives for a comprehensive bicycle and pedestrian network to connect downtown commercial areas with the riverfront. This launch site is another element that makes Bound Brook a destination area.”

In addition to the access to the River for kayaks and canoes, the Plan calls for an open space along the waterfront, from Queens Bridge to Middle Brook. This would include the formalization of a Bound Brook Riverfront Trail System for pedestrians and bicycles and a creation of a riverfront park. The Plan can be found by going to this url: http://boundbrook-nj.org/MasterPlan/RiverAccessPlan

The Borough received a technical assistance award from the National Park Service’s Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program in 2017 and 2018. The NPS helped form a steering committee made of local stakeholders including New Jersey American Water, Somerset County Planning Division, Rutgers University Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Pfizer, and members of the Borough’s Economic Development Advisory Committee.

The Borough of Bound Brook and New Jersey American Water will formally open Bound Brook’s Riverfront Access Launch at noon on Saturday, May 5, 2018. The launch is located under the Queens Bridge in Bound Brook. RSVP required.

For more information about the kayak and canoe launch site or to RSVP for the ribbon cutting ceremony, contact Bound Brook Borough Administrator Hector Herrera 732-893-8520.