Skate Park Concerns: Safety, Funding, Transparency

Cranford residents expressed more concerns over the proposed skate park location along Hillside Avenue at Tuesday’s township committee official meeting.

Traffic and safety, funding and transparency issues were voiced to township officials. These concerns are in addition to those reported on at Monday's meeting.

Residents once again brought attention to illegal parking along Hillside Avenue between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., saying that the problem will only be exacerbated by the added vehicle and pedestrian traffic brought by a new skate park.

“My wife was driving slowly down the avenue, thank god, because in an area where you can’t park people sit in their cars and watch their kids play on the fields," said one Hillside Avenue resident. "A kid ran between the cars and thankfully my wife was able to stop in time.”

Mayor David Robinson said that the committee intends to consider and possibly introduce a change in parking restrictions that would not allow parking at all on the side of Hillside Avenue. He said discussion of such a measure would be held at the next township committee meeting.

He also said a traffic light is in the works for the intersection of Centennial and Hillside avenues.

“This intersection has been a recognized problem,” he said. “We’re putting a traffic light in there. It’s been ordered. Last year we ordered it. That’s underway.”

While taxpayer funds may not go directly to building the facility, residents expressed apprehension that taxpayer money would be spent on paying for regulation of park and parking rules. 

Robinson assured participants that he would not vote for any measure that would put the skate park bill burden on taxpayers.

“I’m not going to vote in favor of any township expenditures to build a skate park,” said Robinson. “We’ve got critical infrastructure needs. I don’t see any need for other projects.”

He mentioned one way in which the skate park land lease, funding and regulation might work.

“We could use the Cranford Clay Tennis Courts example. There’s the potential for a land lease by the township. The park operation would be funded by the Cranford Skate Park Association,” he said. “If the extent of the requirements of the lease are not met, the lease will be voided. Again, this is a model and a first step in a process.”

Others raised questions regarding the transparency of the committee’s process in finding a location for the skate park.

“I’m totally in favor of there being a skate park in Cranford. I’m in contention with the process of the decision,” said a N. Lehigh Avenue resident. “When it was first considered on the north side of town, there was extended debate and discussion. I’ve not been privy to any debates when it was considered for the south side of the town. I want there to be transparency in the discussion.”

Other Hillside Avenue residents agreed that they had no say in the narrowing down of the skate park locations.

“It was a deliberative process,” said Robinson. “It was on at least one prior township meeting agenda.”

A Hillside Avenue resident presented a petition with 130 signatures against the proposed skate park location.

“The first 70 names were acquired in the first 15 minutes after school with one person and one pen,” said the resident. “We say yes to the skate park, no to the location.”

The meeting ran from 8 to 11 p.m. Most of the time was spent on the skate park discussion. Monday's workshop meeting ran until about 1 a.m.

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The township committee hosts public meetings on a monthly basis.