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County moves to codify park speed limits; commissioners hear residents' park and street-safety concerns
Summary
Essex County introduced an ordinance to set and enable enforcement of speed limits in county parks, and commissioners heard public comments asking for playground repairs, a long-jump pit at Weekway Park and traffic safety review for Lake Street in Newark.
Essex County commissioners introduced an ordinance to codify and post speed limits in county parks and to enable sheriff's department enforcement, and they discussed related signage needs for parks and playgrounds.
Director Jackson said the ordinance would establish speed limits within the county park system so the sheriff can enforce them. Commissioner Vice President Cooper asked that the county also post no-smoking signs near playgrounds and to confirm the ordinance covers vaping devices; Commissioner Burchison and others asked for signage limiting bikes and dogs on walking tracks.
During public comment, several residents raised parks and street-safety concerns. Dana Dennis, a resident and transportation advocate, described long-standing deterioration at Montclair’s Monte Irvin Park playground: "The swing's been broken since 2022... the merry-go-round has holes and dents," she said, and asked about the status of safe-routes-to-school and street-safety plans for county roads such as Central Avenue and Main Street. County staff later told the board that the parks department has plans for a total rebuild of the Monte Irvin Park playground and that the county executive had instructed parks staff to explore adding a long-jump pit at Weekway Park following advocacy from local sports groups.
Representatives from the Weekway Park Sports Authority and local residents described a petition and urged the county to add a long-jump pit to support track-and-field development and youth athletics. Parks staff and the county executive indicated the long-jump request will be evaluated, but commissioners cautioned that planning and construction require time and coordination.
Another resident raised safety concerns on Lake Street in Newark, reporting a crash that totaled a family vehicle and asking for county assistance. County officials explained Lake Street is a city roadway and said they would forward the resident’s safety concerns and request for traffic-calming analysis to engineering staff and to Newark officials for follow-up.
The speed-limits-in-parks ordinance was moved and seconded for introduction and first reading; commissioners also moved to include signage requests in park-posting plans. The ordinance will be read into the record at a later time for formal introduction and hearing.
