First it was too many trees on Montclair's Myrtle street. Now an even bigger pushback is underway by residents in the Brookdale Park area for Essex County's widely publicized plans to pave new paths through Brookdale Park along with repaving on top of the old ones elevating the paths as high as 6 inches above ground level. Members of the Brookdale Park Conservancy are up in arms at nearly every aspect of the project. "Not only were we not consulted in advance", complained one resident, "but Essex County has had this ready to go for 18 months without telling anyone. The roads may need work but no one thinks the paths are in need of repaving."
One neighborhood activist posted this sign at the planned starting point for a new asphalt path connector to Poe St:
Scores of neighbors object strongly to the addition of the asphalt path at this location. It will unnecessarily destroy precious habitat, increase stormwater runoff poution and Heat, diminish this woodsy setting Olmstead intended, require repaving, waste tax dollars, and aggravate your voters. NO MORE ASPHALT IN BROOKDALE PARK. NO ADDITIONAL PATHS.Neighbors-- If you share this sentiment, contact joedi@adminessexcountynj.org
Another member of the BPC shared an excerpt from a terse email sent by President Howard Falk to Joe DiVincenzo:
As a result of the paving activity in Brookdale Park a dangerous condition exists. Thick paving material has been added to existing paths creating a sharp drop off at the side of the repaved pathway. This is a serious safety hazard and the Board of Trustees of the Brookdale Park Conservancy wants it remedied immediately...."
County officials announced early Monday that plans for new paved paths would be scrapped, but a conservancy member said she was told by a parks engineer that all the old paths will still have to be repaved because "the money's been spent."
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Comments (32)
Don't let them do it !!
Years ago in Verona Park under the Treffinger administration they black topped all around the boathouse. There was huge tree that they paved up to its base. They came back cut a circle around it and it died months later. They paved up right up to the waters edge and around a some shrubs. It was done overnight and was horrible. To his credit Joe D has made it tolerable around the boathouse now but it still has such an urban feel to it.
I think the existing asphalt paths should be reconditioned. The park doesn't need any new asphalt paths built.
Brookdale does need to have it's road repaved. There are some really nasty potholes in it and it's dangerous for bicyclists.
I would like to know the reason why the County waits until the first week of June to begin this huge project. What moron makes the decision that a huge county park needs to be put under renovation at the beginning of the summer??
You have the incorrect email address for Joe. It is:
joedi@admin.essexcountynj.org
Can someone please explain why we need a county government? Too small to matter, too big to care.
What's the point?
That was Joe who gave out the wrong email address. In other news, Carmine Schmidlap, owner and President of Eastern Essex Park Pathway Paving Company, just bought the yacht Christina, which once belonged to Aristotle Onasis...
I dont understand. Why does the Park have to notify the Brookdale Park Conservancy? As far as I know, the BPC is a club. Im sure they do great things, but I've never walked into a voting booth to elect their members, so I'm pretty sure they aren't officials of the park's budget.
"Not only were we not consulted in advance", complained one resident....
Listen, "Resident." If I lived next to an airport, they wouldnt consult me on anything they are doing to the tarmac- be glad that you live near a nice park, but remember its not yours.
You can protest all you want, but I think its a county thing, rather than a NIMBY thing
Oh good, they're planning on repaving the roads too. I took the Vespa through the park yesterday thinking it would be a nice, calm detour on my ride home - I was so wrong. Those potholes are dangerous! And they come in patches that cover entire sections making it impossible to avoid them. It's a hazardous ride for someone on two wheels.
"creating a sharp drop off at the side of the repaved pathway. This is a serious safety hazard and the Board of Trustees of the Brookdale Park Conservancy wants it remedied immediately...."
Yeah, while you're at it, walking off my sidewalk there is a sharp drop to the street, which is pretty dangerous considering that there are 2 ton machines flying by.
Guess what, the soccer fields are uneven, and little johnny twisted his leg! You want "Man to make things smooth" but you wouldnt blame nature if the steep drop off came from a natural walking path"
I think its time for me to set my ringtone to "Door Bell" and hang out by the dog park.
They paved paradise and put up a parking lot... With a pink hotel, a boutique And a swingin' hot spot
OH, Don't it always seem to go..
That you don't know what you've got
till it's gone ..They paved paradise...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWwUJH70ubM
I hope they eventually widen the paths so I can drive my Hummer over them while wearing my favorite tee shirt.
Walter Mitty, ROFLMAO
Walter Mitty, ROFLMAO
I had the same reaction as "Jimmytown" to the remark "...not only were we not consulted in advance..."
The Parkway just finished repaving the northbound lanes between 150 and 151 AT MIDNIGHT and my neighborhood wasn't consulted, nor even notified! We just got woken up by the noise and bright lights.
Government rarely "consults" anyone before doing whatever they're hell-bent on doing.
As a resident by the park I had no problem with the repaving there were some areas that really needed it. However, I do understand about the drop off. When my daughter was riding along the path and was not paying attention, as 5 year-old's with new bikes can sometimes do, she almost went off the edge. Lucky she jumped off before it went over. Some spots are not that high but others really are. Maybe adding some grass or dirt around those edges would be good.
These asphalt pathways are an outrage. Asphalt is a fossil fuel that pollutes our waterways and our atmosphere. It would be better to rip up the asphalt altogether and go back to dirt paths. By introducing the Wild Donkey to Brookdale Park, the animal's dung would provide a natural pavement. A similar thing could be done for roads, too, though much more dung would be required, and the smell might get overwhelming. A chief advantage of road paved thusly with dung is that it would encourage people to abandon cars altogether in favor of a return to nature--if not quite hunting and gathering, at least a primitive agriculture. It's time to Think Big to save the Planet.
Mathilda, you had me at "Wild Donkey."
Mathilda, if I have any questions about dung, I now know where to turn. You are a dung expert.
OEH, "riding along the path and was not paying attention, as 5 year-old's with new bikes can sometimes do, she almost went off the edge."
OEH,
I was 5 years old once, and I have the scars to remind me. I understand where you are coming from, my neice is 6 and still falls off her bike sometimes. But if kids arent paying attention and hurt themselves, dare I say they learn a lesson?
When I was a kid I drank 80 degree water from a hose in the yard. The metal tip burned my lips. I only burned my lip once. after that, I learned not to put the hose to my mouth. If I had a Board of Trustees making sure I was safe at all times, I dont think Id be as kean as I am today. Agreed?
And what happens when your daughter falls off a bike when there is nobody to blame?
I jog on a path elevated a few inches, which isn't a problem. The problem is when the grass grows and gives the appearance of the ground being flush and even with the pavement. One morning as I was finishing my run I stepped off the path onto what I thought was solid ground, only to find the ground was actually several inches lower. I got a bad ankle sprain. Because of the pavement it is impossible to mow the grass near it, and the township can't get someone out there with clippers and a weed wacker trimming the edges of every single walkway in town.
Somebody send these posts to DiVincenzo,please!
JT, we're all glad indead to sea that you leerned keanness as a child.
Having a Glen Ridge education, you'd think I could spell. But I can't crank. Hopefully you still understood my point
I thought bikes are not allowed on the paths anyway?
Last time they paved the roads, it was so great for roller blading. Looking forward to it.
I'm sure it won't take long before we all learn the walking path is higher than the grass. The world is a dangerous place, indeed.
I haven't seen any signs that prohibit bicycle use on the pathways. I use the paths to get to Ridgewood Ave from Bellevue. Of course I go very slowly, realizing that the joggers, dog-walkers, parents with strollers all have a larger right to this paved resource than I, on my bike, do. When necessary, I will dismount to ensure the saftey of everyone in my immediate vicinity, no less my own.
There is a very convenient 'porta-john' near the dog run which can only be accessed via the paved paths. It is a great place for a 'pee-pee' break while on an extended ride.
Mmm, I'll have to take note next time I'm there - I could have sworn there were signs saying 'bikes on roads only' or something.
m-dweller... if the sign says bikes on *pavement* only, then all is lost.
to point, I happen to agree with chicken. yes, we will learn about the unnecessarily high stack of asphalt. but that doesn't make it right. these companies will pave many inches over the existing tar because it is mindless work. if they were to fill holes and even out the paths it would be infinitely more useful (and safer) - but will actually take some decision making on the part of the minumum wage workers who are toiling while the contractor is out on his yacht.
Essex County Park "system" Rules
http://www.essex-countynj.org/Park_Rules.pdf
NO * Riding bikes off paved roadways
Not sure if a path is considered a roadway, but I always thought bikes were prohibited on sidewalks.
Spending taxpayer's money on the walking paths is a waste of money. They are perfectly fine. Spend the money on making the parking safe for walkers, dog walkers, runners, strollers, etc. by putting speed bumps before the crosswalks. We all know how fast the cars will be going when there are no potholes to slow them down.
Bike riding on the pathways is illegal.
Should it be is another story.
Lots of us would like to see a bike lane in Brookdale Park along with any necessary traffic calming measures necessary for bicycle safety.
Did you know that there used to be bike races in Brookdale park?
The Brookdale Park Conservancy is not a "club" but a group of approx 200 concerned citizens who want to make the park better and don't want our money spent on needless items.
They are starting to have regular cleanups in the park and have been advocating changes that the county should be making such as the repaving of the roadway, handicapped spots in the parking lots, signs that show that the speed limit is 25, containers and pickup for recycling, relocation of trash containers, the maintenance and planting of trees.
They have a great website and are a worthwhile group.