Board looks to increase open space

City acquires Oliver Street property

By: William Wichert
   BORDENTOWN CITY — City officials secured a key piece of open space along Oliver Street, bringing them a little closer to their long-term preservation goals.
   Once threatened by residential development, this 3.6-acre parcel near Blacks Creek was purchased by the Delaware & Raritan Greenway, which will now turn over the property to the city for one of three proposed parks to be created within the municipality.
   The city’s Planning Board previously denied an application made by Woodbridge-based Real Property Development Corp. to build seven houses on the Oliver Street site. The developer sued the city and won, leaving the property’s future in doubt before the Delaware & Raritan Greenway finalized its deal with the company on Nov. 3.
   "The outcome was certainly up in the air for a long time," said Mike Hunninghake, chairman of the city’s Environmental Commission and a Planning Board member. "Now, we need to get more plans together on how to turn the property into a park area."
   Well-known for its fox and deer habitats, the Oliver Street property is part of the city’s ongoing mission to preserve 52 acres and provide natural park settings for residents whose only local open space comes in the form of playgrounds. Of the 640 acres spanning the city, 92 acres are currently preserved as open space.
   "We want to make these urban areas more desirable to live in," said Mr. Hunninghake. "(Residents) want to be able to get out into nature without getting in their cars."
   As officials prepare for an Oliver Street park with a multipurpose field and wildlife viewing areas, plans also are moving forward for two other proposed parks within the municipality: the Lime Kiln Alley Park and the Railroad Avenue Promenade.
   The Lime Kiln Alley Park will be made up of six properties at the end of Lime Kiln Alley, where several homes and the remains of a more than 100-year-old coal plant currently stand. Its propensity for flooding and septic systems already make this area unsuitable for residences, said Planning Board Chairman Sam Surtees.
   Mr. Surtees said the Delaware & Raritan Greenway has already purchased three properties on Lime Kiln Alley and is in negotiations for three more. The coal plant is expected to be turned over to the city next year, once the state approves the remediation work done by PSE&G, which owns the site, he said.
   Once completed, this park will give residents a spot to enter Blacks Creek by kayak or canoe, said Mr. Hunninghake.
   The project closest to its construction start date, however, is the Railroad Avenue Promenade, a proposed 3-acre linear park expected to run along the railroad track embankment from Railroad Avenue and Second Street to Prince Street.
   The city is expected to begin reconstructing the retaining wall surrounding the tracks before the end of the year, and it has applied to the state Department of Transportation for a $475,000 grant to build the linear park, said Mr. Surtees. He said the city should find out the status of the grant application by February.
   While these three projects are already under way, a more ambitious open space plan remains on the books: the Thorntown Creek Greenway.
   City officials hope to make other the Oliver Street property a base for walking trails around Blacks Creek, but the trails expected to cross Thorntown Creek would run through forest areas that many residents have never seen.
   "None of these areas are formally parkshed," said Mr. Hunninghake. "There are no trails. There are no benches yet. This is all the very beginning of the process."