Glen Ridge works to keep tracks and fields at their best

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Glen Ridge Borough Council unanimously approved an ordinance to use $150,000 in grant funding from the Essex County Open Space and Recreation Trust Fund to resurface the track at Hurrell Field at its Aug. 9 meeting. The project, which has already been finished, cost a total of $174,000; the remaining $24,000 came from borough coffers.

“The last time it was done was 10 or 11 years ago, so it was starting to show wear and tear,” Recreation Director Jim Cowan said about the track in a phone interview with The Glen Ridge Paper on Aug. 16. “That’s about the shelf life of them, so it was time.”

The recreation department has also been maintaining the playing fields in town with natural grass throughout the summer. According to Cowan, Glen Ridge is the only town in the county that has no artificial turf fields, except for George Washington Field, which it shares with Montclair during the fall sports season.

“It’s a challenge to keep them all in good playing condition, so we’ve spent some money on it,” Cowan said. “At this time, they look as good as I’ve seen. We have to manage traffic on them, which is a big jigsaw puzzle.”

The Glen Ridge High School track team uses the track at Hurrell, as do others, both from Glen Ridge and elsewhere.

Councilman Rich Law, who serves as chairperson of the Parks and Recreation Committee, said in a phone interview with The Glen Ridge Paper on Aug. 16 that several referendums to add artificial turf to fields over the years haven’t passed.

“Whether it’s the cost or environmental concerns, it just didn’t pass,” Law said. “I think we’ll keep evaluating, but there are no plans to switch to artificial turf. I think whether we have turf or not, we have to take care of the natural grass.”

Practices for fall sports began on Aug. 16, and Cowan said the recreation department and Department of Public Works will monitor the grass at Hurrell, Carteret Park, Forest Avenue Field and the parks around Glen Ridge.

“Now, we don’t have synthetic turf,” he said. “So let’s make sure we do the best we can with what we have, and give the athletes the best we can.”

Photos by Amanda Valentovic

  FEATURED, Glen Ridge Recreation Department, Hurrell Field, Open Space