Hank Waltonowski Park (Photo: Brick Township)
Before adopting a new recreation and open space master plan last month, Brick officials conducted a survey of residents asking what they were looking for from their parks system. The overwhelming answer wasn’t too much of a surprise: pickleball.
The racquet sport that has been surging across the country has found a home in Brick, where some tennis courts have been converted for pickleball usage. In other local towns, including Toms River, Lavallette and Seaside Park, residents have been requesting their elected officials utilize unused space and buildings for pickleball courts. In Florida, purpose-built pickleball facilities are being developed in public-private partnerships.
Township Planner Tara Paxton presented the results of the survey in January, when the planning board heard a presentation on the master plan, which will guide Brick’s park, open space, and recreational facilities development for several years to come. A visual representation of residents’ preferences is shown below, but in terms of numerical rankings, the priorities were clear when residents were asked what they believe would most improve Brick’s parks:
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- Pickleball Courts
- Additional Bathrooms
- Additional Lighting
- Trails for Walking/Jogging/Biking
- More Cleaning
- More Activities on the Barrier Island
The same survey asked residents what they enjoyed most about the township’s parks as they are today:
- Cleanliness/Well-Kept
- Maintenance
- Nature Access
- Variety of Activities
- Beaches/Water Access
- Safety
- Parking Availability
- Trails
- Landscaping
The survey asked residents which activities they most participated-in:
- Farmers Market
- Bike Trails
- Windward Beach Activities
- Cycling
- Pickleball
Residents also ranked the programs from the Recreation Department they enjoy most, with soccer, beach-oriented programs, cornhole, basketball and walking/exercise scoring highest.
A visual representation of a survey on the usage of Brick Township’s parks. (Credit: Brick Township Land Use Division)
A visual representation of a survey on the usage of Brick Township’s parks. (Credit: Brick Township Land Use Division)
A majority of residents replied that they use parks seasonally, however a nearly-equal number of residents – 29 percent – said they use them weekly. A smaller number, 17 percent, said they use them monthly, and about 15 percent use the parks on the daily basis. Asked to rank their awareness of Brick’s open space and parkland offerings from 0-10, residents found themselves in the middle, settling at 5.5 (55 out of 100) according to 788 respondents who answered
The master plan will also guide Brick’s priorities when considering future open space purchases. The survey asked residents to rank 12 priorities in order. They were (in order from largest priority to least):
- Natural resources protection.
- Linkages to additional open space, or expanding existing open space.
- Habitat and biodiversity protection.
- Relief of development pressures.
- Water quality and drought protection.
- Recreational value and opportunity.
- Historical and cultural value.
- Flood hazard mitigation.
- Heat hazard mitigation.
- Equity considerations.
- Traffic impacts.
- Cost of acquiring land.
The master plan was ultimately adopted by the planning board – followed by the township council – alongside the data from the survey. This year, Brick officials will focus their efforts primarily on upgrades to Windward Beach Park, where they will embark on a program to link pedestrian access from Princeton Avenue to the Metedeconk River, and rehabilitate the playground areas. The $611,422 estimated cost of the project will see the vast majority covered by grant funding, with taxpayers contributing just $152,855 toward the improvements.
