FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Members of the Planning Board have given a thumbs up to the construction of a pedestrian bridge at Lake Topanemus Park, Pond Road, Freehold Township.
An application proposing the bridge was unveiled to the board on April 19 by attorney Kerry Higgins and engineer William Wentzien, representing Freehold Borough.
Lake Topanemus is owned by Freehold Borough, but located in Freehold Township. Residents of both municipalities serve on the Lake Topanemus Commission, which maintains the natural resource.
The commission proposed the pedestrian bridge to increase safety in an area at Lake Topanemus where people fish.
The construction of the bridge was approved by residents and business owners in Freehold Borough during a recent process that permitted them to select approximately $200,000 worth of projects they wanted local officials to fund. The initiative was called participatory budgeting.
During testimony before the Planning Board, Wentzien said the 100-foot-long bridge will provide safe passage for pedestrians to travel between the north and south sides of the lake without having to walk on Pond Road. The actual bridge section will be 44 feet long. Wentzien said the structure will comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Wentzien said there will not be an impact on drainage in the area of the lake, which will remain as it currently functions. He said the bridge will be constructed of structural fir or southern yellow pine and will be maintained by the Lake Topanemus Commission.
No one from the public commented on the bridge project. Board members voted unanimously to have their attorney draw up a positive resolution which will be memorialized with a vote during a future meeting.
Regarding Freehold Borough’s participatory budgeting initiative, in addition to the construction of the pedestrian bridge at Lake Topanemus, voters approved a sidewalk replacement program and the installation of additional street lights in the downtown area. A total of 13 proposals were put forth by members of the public. The participatory budgeting project gave members of the public a direct say in how a portion of the 2018 municipal budget would be spent.