The following is an ‘Ask The Mayor’ question submitted to TLS, and the Mayor’s response. Email your questions for the Mayor to [email protected].
Question:
Hello Mr. Mayor,
I would like to thank you for all the work you do in our town and for being so reachable to the townspeople.
My question is about the local parks here in Lakewood. As the community grows exponentially as the days and months go by, the number of children enjoying the local parks around town increases too. The recent redo of Pine Park was a breath of fresh air and we are really enjoying it.
I noticed that the park at Sunset Rd was recently demolished and we anticipate a new and improved park to replace it. I would like to bring a seemingly minor yet important issue to your attention.
Most parks I have visited in Lakewood are designed with the playground atop a bed of mulch. While it is soft on play, the mulch almost always accompanies us home when the children shake off their clothes and remove their shoes, leaving traces of the brown stuff wherever you look. I have seen in other counties in NJ and other countries as well a most innovative way to avoid this whilst still supporting the soft impact for the children. Instead of mulch underneath the playground, there is a soft rubber floor. It provides a soft ground for the children to play on, it is safe in the event of a fall, and best of all, it doesn’t come home with us.
If this can be requested that the county install something like this at Sunset Park and any other parks considered for redoing instead of any kind of mulch, it would make our (almost daily) trips to the park that much more enjoyable.
Again, I thank you for your time and work to keep our town running smoothly.
A Local Resident near Sunset Park
Response from Mayor Coles:
Thank you for contacting me.
I have asked our public works manager and township engineer to look into this and see if it is possible for any of our parks.
Stay Safe
Ray
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Have a question for the Mayor? Send it to [email protected]
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Mulch is not like sand that goes all over the place and can also be removed easier.
Teach your children to brush off the mulch instead of wasting the tzibburs money and energy of the Mayor and the Township staff
would you like cement instead of sand at the beaches also so you do not have to bring it home on your towels stop being silly you are lucky we have parks when i grew up we played in the street. Ask your children to wipe off their feet before they enter the house put a mat outside your door for them to wipe their feet on before they come inside the house.
On a similar note, how do some areas get chosen to have a park? The closest park to my high taxed Lakewood neighborhood (not development) is 1.5 miles away.
I totally agree with the letter writer. Besides for bringing it home, at the park too the mulch is a disaster. One fall and the kids clothing have these wood pieces all over. They get the kids shoes and sneakers all dirty. We appreciate the parks so much and the letter writer is not asking to redo all parks but rather if a new park is going up might as well put in the newest types of flooring that work best for kids and parents alike.