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Coalition Introduces Park Concept Designs
Though
no Embankment supporter should rest before our nine-year
preservation struggle results in public ownership, let's take a
moment to celebrate the Surface Transportation Board (STB)
ruling last week. It vindicated early research by Rick
James showing that the Embankment was part of the national railway
system, and thus subject to the jurisdiction of the STB, not local land
use boards, and cannot be sold without being first abandoned through
the federal process.
What better way to celebrate than to dream about our park? A different kind of park. One that
- uses the 19th-20th Century historic structure for 21st Century walkers and bicyclers
- preserves a habitat corridor
- is the opening segment of the East Coast Greenway in New Jersey
- provides meandering paths and overlooks of the National Historic Districts
- gives our children exploratory play areas and encourages them to get in touch with nature
The
Coalition commissioned Cassandra Wilday Landscape
Architects to jumpstart a public discussion about what kind
of park suits the site and the community. Cassandra
Wilday is perhaps best known locally for her award-winning work on Pier
A Park, which she designed with landscape architect Henry Arnold.
Pier A Park juts out into the Hudson River next to the
Erie-Lackawanna train station in Hoboken.
Eastern
Entrance, Embankment Park. Cassandra Wilday Landscape
Architects. Cassandra Wilday, Jason Gould. This rendering
shows a ramp, compliant with American-with-Disabilities-Act standards,
from Marin Boulevard to the Embankment top. The three-part
design carried throughout the right-of-way begins here: a habitat
strip reserved for possible future light rail; greenway; and park. (The
Coalition hopes to extend the greenway east to the Hudson River
Waterfront Walkway and west through the Bergen Arches.)
For a concept plan of the entire Embankment right-of-way, click here. | 
