New Playground Coming to Seaside Park, Lighting on the Way

The 14th Avenue playground in Seaside Park, N.J., Oct. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Seaside Park officials have confirmed they will accept the generous gift of a new playground for the borough’s youth, donated by a resident who wishes to remain anonymous.

At a meeting of the borough council last week, the governing body authorized the installation of new playground equipment at the recreation area that spans 13th and 14th avenues west of Barnegat Avenue. The same complex also includes a baseball diamond and tennis courts, which are also under consideration for upgrades.

“We went ahead, and the governing body authorized the work in terms of the installation of new playground equipment,” said Mayor John Peterson. “It is a very generous donation, and we are going to accept that donation – especially before the prices go up.”

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The anonymous donor is a Seaside Park family, and has committed to funding more than $174,000 for the construction of a new playground at the recreation complex.

The recreation area featured an aging playground in the middle portion of the block. The benefactor requested they remain anonymous, but that the playground equipment be oriented toward children in the 6-12 year-old age group. The donation comes at a time when the borough has been looking to improve the recreation area as a whole, including solving long-term drainage issues and replacing lights that have become unreliable – if not outright unsafe. It is expected the lighting replacement portion of the project will be ironed out sooner rather than later.

“We hadn’t come to a resolution of the lighting, and the debate was whether to accept the costs for a new electrical conduit,” said Peterson. “The rationale was that we were investing all of this time and energy, and this area has a very high water table. The existing wiring in the conduit has some decayed areas. Rather than repair it piecemeal, the thought was to replace it at once. We’re going to consider that as early as the next meeting.”

The 14th Avenue playground in Seaside Park, N.J., Oct. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

The 14th Avenue playground in Seaside Park, N.J., Oct. 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)

Peterson said an engineering firm completed core sampling and the actual poles on which the current lights are placed remain in good condition.

“Fortunately, they have quite a bit of lasting life in them,” the mayor said of the poles. “We’re going to take down those rickety lights and replace them with the LEDs, which will be far more cost effective too.”

The LED lights will turn on and off instantly, and save more than 30 percent in electricity fees once approved and installed.