Page 4 • Wednesday , February 23 , 2022 • The Hammonton Gazette
Town seeking to revitalize Hammonton Lake Park
COMMISSION , from Page 1 for Hammonton Lake Park .
“ We want your input . We want your questions ... it ’ s a once-in-alifetime opportunity for a redo out there , so we don ’ t want to swing and miss . We want to make sure we ’ re a target shooter , not buckshot . We all need to work together in an effort to get this wagon up the hill . i thank you for your attendance tonight . this is wonderful to have so many people interested in this wonderful asset ,” DiDonato said .
Scott taylor , a landscape architect and planner with taylor Design Group , then took to the podium . taylor said that his firm was hired to help the town with “ a master visioning plan for reimagining Hammonton Lake Park .”
“ the town , in going through a lot of its branding efforts — both in the downtown and some of your other civic spaces , your logo and colors — wanted to try to embrace some of that place-making , carry that into the park , set up a framework for trying to bring the park back to some of its former glory , and then what the vision is for some of the expanded elements , some safer elements — improve sustainability , pedestrian access , handicap accessibility — for a really diverse user group in ages ,” taylor said . taylor noted that the park is located within the jurisdiction of the New Jersey Pinelands , and is regulated by the comprehensive management plan and the Pinelands Commission .
“ We will be regulated for everything that happens at this park under the wetlands requirements and stormwater management requirements of the Pinelands regulations . that means that , because we ’ re associated with the lake and the wetlands , those existing limits of disturbance are set to be about what they can be . We can try to reimagine and reconfigure some of what we have internal to that park . We can also do some water-dependent recreation improvements within those wetlands transition areas , like walking trails , boardwalks , docks and overlooks ,” taylor said . taylor noted that the concept is a long-term vision master plan .
“ We haven ’ t specifically designed any of these elements yet . it ’ s really to set up a systematic approach for the types of elements that could happen here , what they look like at this park and then , as funding comes onboard — either through grants or capital improvements — there ’ s a framework to know what bench are we using , what light , what litter receptacle , what type of playground equipment and where is it supposed to go ,” taylor said . taylor said that the area is “ blessed and cursed ” with sandy , well-drained soil .
“ You know from driving this ; the driveway , a lot of the picnic areas are just expanses of sand . We ’ re seeing runoff from that into the lake ; that negatively impacts water quality for the lake . One of the things that we ’ re doing is some management recommendations , trying to increase the organic matter that can be done through composting . that increased vegetal uptake and getting good turf and pollinator bio-retention in some other areas , helps improve water quality ,” taylor said .
Part of the new concept for the Park avenue entrance to the park , taylor said , includes an on-street dedicated bicycle lane with a connection to an internal walking path . the concept also includes a dedicated , narrow walking trail around the ball fields — which taylor said will hopefully be paved with asphalt — as well as 45-degree parking along it .
“ Our drive-lane only has to be 14 or 15 — or perhaps 16 — feet in width , whatever the Pinelands will allow us , because , again , of impervious surface limitations and stormwater management ,” taylor said . the plan also includes new , improved signage to better highlight the Park avenue entrance , as well
See PARK , Page 12