I n 2011, township officials acquired a $200,000 grant from the Monmouth County Municipal Open Space Program to use on a project they hoped would help breathe new life into Ideal Beach and its surrounding community.
When superstorm Sandy struck in October 2012, the plan took a back seat to make room for recovery efforts.
With the third anniversary of Sandy on Oct. 29, township officials say they are looking to begin the Ideal Beach Park Improvement Project within the coming year.
“The reason why there is such a gap between the time of the grant being awarded and now is that at the time when we were about to submit a permit to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Sandy hit and we really had to wait for recovery efforts to be completed, largely the [U.S.] Army Corps [of Engineers] project of dredging the beach and restoring the beach,” said Amy Sarrinikolaou, director of community development for the township.
“Once that project finished up, we did a new survey of the beach because the beach changed, it got larger and the dune got shorter, but now the project can really begin to move forward.”
The project includes LED and solar lighting upgrades as well as constructing several new timber public access walkways over the existing dune at the beach.
“Phase one of the project specifically includes constructing boardwalks over the existing dune at the Ocean Avenue entrance and Bray Avenue entrance which will provide easier public access to Ideal Beach,” Sarrinikolaou said. “Both boardwalks will be 10-feet-wide timber boardwalks and will be handicapped accessible.”
Sarrinikolaou said the intent of the project and constructing the boardwalks is to control foot traffic of residents and visitors who go up and over the dune to get to the beach.
“Right now there are existing renegade trails up and over the dune in several locations, and the township has recognized the importance of the dunes in terms of protection from flooding,” she said.
“Formalizing access over the dune in the form of these boardwalks will control the foot traffic so that when people want to get to the beach they’ll just use the boardwalk, and we’re going to prevent the use of the renegade trails by filling in those trails with coastal-tolerant vegetation like dune grasses.”
Additional improvements at Ideal Beach include parking lot improvements along Bayside Parkway between Ocean and Hudson avenues as well as lighting improvements.
“We’re adding 11 LED light poles in the parking lot, and then for the boardwalks we’re proposing solar lights within the railings,” Sarrinikolaou said.
Aside from the open space funding, Sarrinikolaou said the project has also received Community Development Block Grant funding, which has been committed specifically for the accessibility improvements, and she said the township is seeking Sustainable Jersey grant funding.
The Gardinier Environmental Fund is contributing $100,000 to support a Sustainable Jersey Small Grants Program and will award one $30,000 and seven $10,000 grants for energy projects focused on conservation, efficiency and renewable energy.
“It’s a big project … and if we were awarded the $30,000 grant from Sustainable Jersey, it would help to ensure that the LED light poles would be the top-of-the–line, latest technology,” Sarrinikolaou said.
In the future, Sarrinikolaou said she hopes to expand the project even further through the construction of a third handicapped accessible boardwalk and the reconstruction of the existing restroom/concession building to include a second story and a direct access path to Ideal Beach from the Hudson Avenue access point.
“Currently we are waiting for NJDEP Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA) approval,” Sarrinikolaou said. “A CAFRA individual permit was required to do these improvements on the dunes.”
Once approval comes, she said the project could officially get underway.
“The NJDEP actually issued notice to surrounding property owners about the permit and the construction of the project, and we’re really just waiting for that approval,” she said. “We’re hoping for approval in February 2016 so that construction can begin in the spring.”