Boro Council purchases 2 more acres near causeway

Boro Council purchases 2
more acres near causeway
Officials hope to use
land for future park
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer

SOUTH RIVER — The quest to expand the borough’s parkland continues.

Last week, the Borough Council approved the purchase of approximately 2 acres near the causeway. The property was purchased for $250,000 from Alex and May Kulessa, according to Borough Clerk Al Seaman.

Mayor Robert Szegeti said that the amount of property owned by the borough on the causeway is about 3 acres. In the future, Szegeti said he hopes the area will become a passive recreation park that one day may reach to the waterfront park property behind Grekoski Park, off Whitehead Avenue.

"We’re trying to keep it a passive park where you can enjoy the scenery and the natural resources," Szegeti said about the causeway property.

This year there is money in the capital improvements budget to buy accessories such as picnic tables and benches for the waterfront park and maybe even for the causeway park, the mayor said. He added that soon he would like to construct a boardwalk-type walkway that fishermen and crabbers can use along the South River.

These park improvements are part of a larger scheme to connect the causeway area to the waterfront park and establish walkways throughout the area.

The waterfront improvement project in the borough includes plans for a 1.3-mile river walk and a 1.4-mile bike path/pedestrian walkway.

The bike path/pedestrian walkway will begin at Ivan Way and run north to Whitehead Avenue, opposite Yates Avenue. The river walk will connect to this trail near the existing South River Boat Club and run south along the South River, connecting again with the bike path/pedestrian walkway near the Department of Public Works building.

Along with the walkways, borough officials are planning to develop athletic fields on the waterfront property for public use.

Last week, Councilman Arthur Londensky said that the borough wants to expand the borough’s parks using the open space fund.

The new causeway property is in the area of a flood study that was conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Londensky said. Because this area can flood up to five times a year, passive recreation is the only viable option for the causeway property, he said.

A study released in June by the Army Corps outlined solutions to flooding problems that have periodically occurred on the South River. The plan proposed the installation of two levees, each approximately 10,000 feet long and 21.5 feet tall, on opposite banks of the river. The project would also include a storm surge barrier north of the Veterans Memorial Bridge in combination with the levees and flood walls that would be installed in the lower areas.

The South River and the Raritan River basin was studied for several years after the Corps was authorized to do so by the U.S. House of Representatives in May 1993.

According to the Army Corps summary, the total cost for the hurricane and storm damage reduction project is $62.5 million. Another $50.5 million will be spent on ecosystem restoration of the South River in order to avoid or minimize environmental impact, the summary states.

The project will be paid for by the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the federal government. The DEP will absorb 35 percent of the cost, while the federal government will cover 65 percent of the cost.

Army Corps officials are uncertain when, or if, the solutions will be approved.