Safety concerns shadow parcel eyed for park

Acre on Main Street located at traffic trouble spot.

By: Scott Morgan
   NEW HANOVER — At a special meeting Monday, the Township Committee voted to apply for a state Green Acres grant to convert an acre of vacant ground on Main Street into a small neighborhood park.
   A number of residents had a problem with that.
   The contention stems from a few different points, primarily the parcel’s location on the corner of Main Street and Hockamick Road. This is a corner known for several accidents in recent years involving cars that have missed the stop sign at this intersection and ended up either on the parcel of land itself or on the property of the Clugsten family, whose house sits roughly 100 feet away, across from the Municipal Complex.
   Residents, including the Clugstens, chided the committee for its plans to put a park where they say it is just too dangerous to have one.
   "You’re talking about empty lots," Jamie Clugsten said. "But nobody’s talking about cars running through my house."
   Resident Frances Fierstein said, flatly, "There is a safety issue on that corner" and the Rev. Norman Eckley, pastor of the Cookstown Methodist Church, said the corner presents "a big safety factor that needs to be discussed," adding, "that corner is dangerous."
   Prior to the vote, a popular refrain from Mayor Dennis Roohr was that the special meeting was being held to consider the grant application and nothing more. The Rev. Eckley asked if there would be anther meeting during which residents could have their questions answered and Mayor Roohr said there would be another meeting. He stopped short, however, of saying the meeting would be specifically a "Q and A" session.
   Acquiring the parcel, said Township Clerk Geoffrey Urbanik, would cost approximately $152,500, an amount Mayor Roohr said makes the purchase a good deal. The mayor said that the township wants to seek 25 percent of that amount through the Green Acres grant.
   He also said that a park across the street from the Municipal Complex would be a beautiful addition to the township as well as a guarantee of just that much more open space.
   Committeewoman Sharon Atkinson, the mother of Jamie Clugsten, chided the idea of beautification, asking, "what’s so beautiful" about cars driving onto the property?
   Beyond the safety concerns, there were several questions as to the value of acquiring this particular space.
   Ms. Atkinson also questioned the location of the park, given that there are several other parcels of ground throughout the township that could be used.
   In the end, the committee voted 3-2 to submit the application. Mayor Roohr said that though a park would complement the corner nicely, he also said that the proceedings to acquire the spot are just beginning. If the township ultimately secures the property, he said, then officials will consider design and safety elements.
   "This is just the tip of the iceberg," he said.