EDITORIAL: Reichler Park better choice for skate park

The real issue with skate park is location

   The Township Council appears ready to move ahead with a proposal to build a new township skate park.
   Our only question is: What’s taken so long.
   Skate parks — like those in neighboring Monroe, Jamesburg and North Brunswick — offer safe areas for teens, getting them out of parking lots and off the streets. And they provide another option for youth sports, offering children the opportunity to participate in skating and skateboarding competitions and try out new tricks in a relatively safe environment.
   The Recreation Advisory Board has been advocating for a park for at least three years, backed by petitions from local residents the latest of which was presented to the council last week.
   So the desire for a park has been obvious for a while.
   As have the benefits: Cash, of course, has been an issue. Until recently, the council had been unwilling to commit the money — about $125,000 to construct the facility. It announced last week, however, that it was prepared to move forward and it said this week that it would take the money from the township’s open space trust fund.
   A park would be designed with input from local teens, who already have been involved, and would likely feature removable ramps. Park users also would be responsible for helping to police behavior.
   That leaves only one issue to be resolved: Location.
   The council is considering Woodlot Park on New Road and Reichler Park on Route 522, behind the municipal complex, as potential homes for the facility.
   Both are large enough to house a skating facility, have a history of playing central roles in community events and recreational programs and are close to the center of the community.
   However, we think Reichler is the obvious choice, for three reasons:
   1. Reichler is adjacent to the township’s full-time ambulance corps.
   2. Reichler, as part of the municipal complex, is located behind the police station, meaning there would be a regular police presence in the area.
   3. Reichler is built on more stable ground. Because Woodlot was built on a landfill, there have been problems with parking lots and the tennis and basketball courts. The ground under the basketball courts was so unstable, in fact, that the township finally removed the courts rather than waste money making repairs on an almost annual basis .
   While Reichler would not be as accessible to teens from Kendall Park and Kingston — they would have to cross Route 1 — Woodlot would pose a similar problem for skaters from Dayton, Deans and Monmouth Junction. In fact, there is not a park in town that will not pose some access problem for teens.
   So for us, the choice is clear. Now it’s up to the Recreation Advisory Board and the Township Council to make it official and start pouring the cement.