By: Greg Forester
ROCKY HILL The Rocky Hill Borough Council approved documents Monday allowing construction of a new walking path in Van Horne Park.
The wood-chip path, which would begin at Crescent Avenue and lead to the rest of the park’s path system, needed approval and signature because it goes through designated wetlands within Van Horne Park, township officials said.
"This is a very simple project, with no tree removal, just wood chips," said William Tanner, the borough engineer.
But the project still needs state approval, despite its simplicity, Mr. Tanner added.
The project will require cutting the pathway about 4 inches into the ground, and filling it with wood chips or denser materials, to deal with the waterlogged area, Mr. Tanner said.
Although officials said the project is simple, residents raised concerns about the survival of the path in an area that floods because a pond adjacent to the path frequently overflows.
"Because of recent development, more water is entering the pond, and it is flooding over," said Jan Lovy, who lives near the park.
Mr. Lovy said that in his recent experience with drainage from the park, the path would probably be swept away.
Township officials said they would look into putting a larger drain into the pond to help with the flooding at a future meeting.

