Lights still included in
park plan
SOUTH RIVER — Despite some outcry from residents, the borough will be going ahead with plans for a new lighted soccer field at Daley’s Pond Park.
Sayreville-based Mario’s Concrete and Paving Co. has been awarded $58,650 to perform improvements to the Prospect Street park.
Included in those plans is the design work for lighting at the soccer field. These plans have met with some opposition in recent months.
Several residents who live in the area of the park have complained that the lighting at the field may cause noise problems, late playing and loitering.
But advocates for the park improvements say these concerns are unfounded.
According to council President David Sliker, the borough will go ahead with design phase of the project and see if the lighting will be a feasible option.
"We’ll take a look at it and see how we can go from there," said Sliker.
Other plans for the renovation include the purchase of new playground equipment, the possible expansion of the current parking lot, and the construction of a walking bridge that will allow residents to be able to walk the entire circumference of the pond.
Also included is the erection of a new gazebo at the park. Vandals destroyed the former gazebo earlier this year. The perpetrators, all youths, have since been punished and the borough’s insurance did cover some of the damage to the gazebo, Sliker said.
The new structure will be approximately double the size of the former gazebo and made of steel instead of wood, Sliker said.
Also, the borough will be looking into placing bathroom facilities in the park. According to borough officials, the park once housed lavatory facilities but closed them several years ago.
— Takesha Pettus