BARNEGAT – As the months warm up, residents should start to see a mix of new equipment, ground cover, and other amenities spring up at every township park.
The Township Committee awarded the sweeping project to Liberty Parks and Playgrounds for $146,958, a figure officials have said is very good for the amount of work being done.
The following park improvements will be made this year:
1st Street:
- Adult fitness equipment will be placed along a new walking trail around the park’s perimeter
- New swings
- Possibility of new basketball courts next year
- New rubber mulch. Wooden mulch will be removed
Bowline/Bilge:
- Resurfacing and striping of basketball courts
- Playground equipment removed and moved to Village Park
- New rubber mulch. Wooden mulch will be removed
Village:
- Installation of Bilge Park’s playground equipment (They are down the street from each other)
- Resurfacing and striping of basketball courts
- Installation of new backboard
- New rubber mulch. Wooden mulch will be removed
Beverly Drive/Pebble Beach
- Removal of all equipment
- Installation of new swings and playground equipment for ages 2-12
- New rubber mulch. Wooden mulch will be removed
Georgetown/Deck
- Removal of all old playground structures, except swings
- Replace the poles as needed on the swings
- Installation of new playground equipment for ages 2-12
- New rubber mulch. Wooden mulch will be removed
Additionally, Project Playground is set to open at the middle of May. That project alone came with a $271,575.34 contract awarded to Liberty. This park is closed until the pavilion is installed, which will be one of the last pieces.
The skate park near the recreation center on West Bay Avenue will also be replaced, said Jeanne Broadbent, the township’s recreation director. The old park was one of the first in the area, and was made of wood. The new one would be concrete and would hopefully be installed by the last day of school.
Timeline
The timeline for these projects depend on a lot of factors, Broadbent said. Weather is a significant issue in any outside project. Also, the township has not yet learned if the contractor plans on finishing one park at a time or removing all of the old equipment first, and then going back to install the new equipment.
The last park will probably be 1st Street, she said, since they will also be building the fitness trail.
The projects will likely not stop there. The basketball courts need to be resurfaced and repainted, but pouring blacktop is something to be done in spring, so the township is looking at 2018 for that.
Officials will see what kind of use the parks get this year, to see what else is needed, she added.
Cost Savings
The township made a few movements to keep the cost savings down, officials said.
One thing was to make all the playground equipment uniform in color and design, Broadbent said. It not only would make sure that every section of town has equal facilities, it will make repairs and maintenance that much easier.
“The residents and children should be really happy with all the township has done for this generation and the next,” she said.
