Touring Morristown’s Open Space

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Today I had the wonderful opportunity to tour open space parcels throughout Morristown.  The town’s Environmental Commission put together a bus tour for interested citizens, town Planning Board members, the Office of Sustainability, Board of Adjustments members, and even Mayor Dougherty himself.

The idea was to bring people out to open space areas in Morristown proper to see what has been preserved and look a potential properties that could be preserved.  It was a daunting list of 27 stops, and I was sure we weren’t going to make it in the two-hour time frame allotted – but we did!

Here Samantha Rothman, of the town’s Environmental Commission, explains the purpose of the outing.  (Excuse the wind noise; it’s quite a blustery day!)

Why is open space good for Morristown?  In a small-sized town that is as developed as Morristown is, preserving open parcels of land is extremely important.  For one thing, you have the environmental benefits that some areas bring to our drinking water, they preserve plant and animal communities and reduce flooding and erosion.  You also have the health and recreational benefits for people within the community.  Beyond that, it makes financial sense, too.  According to the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC), in the long term, “municipal investment in open space and farmland is usually less costly than allowing development.”  (This is partly due to the strain that development can put on the town’s infrastructure and services.)

Jersey Avenue Playground

ANJEC is helping to match the town’s money to update the Open Space and Recreation Plan and Environmental Resource Inventory, which will be a part of the town’s Master Plan.

Speedwell Park - my favorite stop on the tour!

Stops or points of interest on the tour included: Franklin Street Park, Ford Ave Park, George Washington Headquarters and Traction Line Trail, Transit Village, Coal Avenue and a closed portion of Patriot’s Path, Cauldwell Playground, the Municipal Area near Pocahontas Lake, Abbett Avenue Park, Urban Farm at Lafayette Learning Center, Jersey Avenue Playground, Historic Speedwell, Willow Hall, Speedwell Park, Elliot Playground, Early Street Community Garden, Clinton Place Park, a property on Hillcrest Ave, Burnham Park, Budd Street Park, a 10 acre property belonging to the NJ Conservation Foundation near the Spring Brook Golf Course, a Gillespie Lane property, Footes Pond Park, Loyola Retreat & Morristown Field Club, Lidgerwood Park and another vacant property off of Knollwood Rd.

If you’re not familiar with many of these places, you can see where they are through Google Maps of Morristown.

Early Street Community Garden
An undeveloped parcel of land at Coal Ave & Center St. along the Whippany River

We learned that Patriot’s Path, as it runs along Pocahontas Lake, is closed currently because some of the land belongs to NJ Transit and it is awaiting an easement.  The train tracks run along there and in order to reopen for safety purposes, NJT wants higher fences and a different type of gravel put in.  The path is pretty much the only way for the general public to access Pocahontas Lake, and it connects the path to Speedwell Park and Lake, too.

A closed portion of Patriot's Path along Pocahontas Lake

If you’re interested in learning more about particular parcels of land, the Environmental Commission meets on the first Tuesday of each month, except July and August, from 6:30 – 8:00 p.m. on the 3rd floor of Town Hall.

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