The Lawrence Township Council has awarded a contract for $18,000 to an engineering firm to design a new walking path around the perimeter of the township-owned Eldridge Park.
The Township Council awarded the contract to Costa Engineering Corp., which is based in Hackensack, at its July 16 meeting.
The engineering firm will prepare a construction plan that includes details on grading and landscaping. It will prepare a construction cost estimate and bid specifications.
Lawrence Township received a $415,000 grant for the Eldridge Park walkway from the New Jersey Department of Transportation’s Local Transportation Projects fund earlier this year.
The 2.2-acre Eldridge Park is located between Tulane and Greenfield avenues in the neighborhood of the same name. There is a playground in the park.
The walking path will meander along the perimeter of the Eldridge Park. It will be designed to skirt the dripline of the large trees that line the park’s perimeter.
The gently curving path means pedestrians can walk in the park instead of on the streets surrounding the park. There are few sidewalks in the Eldridge Park neighborhood, and none within the immediate vicinity of the park.
The new path will provide a much-needed link between the playground area in the park for families with strollers or users who need walking devices. The existing grass surface can be difficult to navigate, township officials said.
There will be four parking spaces, benches, a trash receptacle and landscaping to upgrade and expand the use of the neighborhood park, officials said.
Construction is anticipated to begin in 2025, officials said.
