Fruits of park project
can already be seen
By tara petersen
Staff Writer
TARA PETERSEN The new gazebo and pedestrian path overlooks the Mill Pond on Main Street in Milltown.
MILLTOWN — The Mill Pond Park is nearing the second of four phases.
The bicycle and pedestrian path from Main Street to Kuhlthau Avenue has been completed, along with the construction of a gazebo near the Milltown Rescue Squad building.
The entire pathway is lighted by 36-inch-high Bollard lighting. Work still needs to be done on foliage buffers between the path and residential properties.
The path, which represents the largest part of the park project’s first phase, continues around the pond toward the 16-acre park, and two "off-shoot paths" lead into the park.
"They are unpaved nature paths," Borough Council President Gerard Cappella said.
Middlesex County has given several grants for the project, including $95,000 to begin phase one, and $550,000 to complete the phase. More grants are expected as the project moves along.
The park project has been a few years in the making. Cappella said that he went to the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders with a conceptual plan in 1999, his first year in office.
"It started out as a dream because as a kid growing up here I used to be able to access the Green Acres park," he said. The area gradually fell into disrepair, he added.
Phase two is to include a park pavilion, bathroom facilities, a swing set, horse shoe pits, and a boat launch for non-motorized boats. The plans also allow for extra parking near the pavilion.
Cappella said that the architectural drawings for the second phase are reaching completion, and that construction is likely to begin in the fall or winter.
"We are anticipating more funding. We have a Green Acres application out there for $393,000 that we are trying to obtain for phase two," he said.
Officials said that the third and fourth phases involve the pond itself.
"It includes the cleanup and the hopeful dredging of the lake," Cappella said.
Cappella said that he sees people strolling along the pedestrian walkway most evenings.
"I go out there at night and watch people enjoying the path," he said.
However, vandals have created a problem by smashing the tops of several lights along the route.
"It’s hurtful because we go through all this effort to make this place a more viable community," Cappella said. "If anyone is caught, they will be prosecuted to the fullest."
He also said that local police have increased patrols in the area. He estimated that it has cost $300 to $400 to replace each of seven broken lights.
The entire project, except for the dredging plans, would cost around $1.3 million, Cappella said.

