AVALON – With funding of nearly $2 million from the Cape May County Open Space Fund, Avalon is set to move ahead with the development of its Surfside Park adjacent to the Boardwalk at 30th Street.
The area for the new park currently hosts an aging playground and skatepark that has deteriorated with age under the harsh conditions that exist close to the ocean.
The existing park is in need of new equipment, and the borough opted to use an opportunity to replace it with a multi-generational facility that can be a focal point for play and community activities.
The project will involve a close working relationship between Taylor Design Group and the borough’s engineering firm, Mott MacDonald. Scott Taylor, of Taylor Design, and Tom Thornton, of Mott MacDonald, explained the relationship to Avalon Borough Council at its Jan. 10 meeting.
Taylor Design is responsible for the conceptual design and actual design specifications. Mott MacDonald will provide the structural and other engineering services.
To illustrate that relationship with a simple example, Taylor said that his firm would design the lighting plan for the complex and Mott MacDonald would get the electricity where it needed to be. Both representatives said they looked forward to working together on the project.
The plan calls for a playground with new equipment, a small performance stage for appropriately-sized concerts and community events, elevated restrooms with rinsing and changing stations, added bicycle racks, a gazebo area for picnics and two separate entrances from the nearby parking lot.
The preliminary schedule that Taylor presented to council called for completion of design work by May 2018, bid documents out by July, and an award in September.
This would allow construction of the facility to begin in September and be completed by Memorial Day 2019.
Taylor emphasized that the design would take into account the harsh conditions presented by proximity to the sea.
Aspects of the design will account for the corrosive effects of the salt air, for example.
The Surfside Park project begins as the county also allocated $70,000 for the extension of the borough’s bicycle path.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
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