Essex Park, New Jersey

Infobox park
park = Essex Park


image size =
caption =
type = Public Park
location = Montclair, New Jersey
coordinates = coord|40.49155|-74.12295|display=inline,title
size = convert|9.9|acre|m2|sing=on
opened =
operator = Montclair
visitors =
status = Open all year.

Essex Park is a municipal park in Montclair, New Jersey.

Facilities

Essex park is not much open space and is mostly occupied by sports and recreational facilities. These facilities are used often by the Montclair High School's gym classes and athletic teams and are closed to the public at some times. It has:
* a Swimming pool
* a soccer field made of artificial turf
* a quarter mile running track
* an ice skating rink
* a football field made of artificial turf
* three baseball fields
* a field house with locker rooms and bathrooms, et.c.
* a playground
* bleacher seating
* footpaths/bikeways
* benches and tables
* a small sledding hill
* open field space

Location

Essex Park is in central Montclair. It is bordered on the west side by New Jersey Transit's Montclair-Boonton Line, on the north by Champlain Terrace, on the East By Essex Street, and comes to a point in the south next to the Walnut Street Railway Station. Going through it is Chestnut Street, separating the Pool, playground, and skating rink from the rest of the park.

Parking Issues

For football games, spectators would park along Essex Street, often breaking laws by blocking corners, driveways, fire hydrants, even streets. At one point a fire truck was parked in front of a driveway and was asked to move, which it did, to a 'no parking' sign. This was protested by local residents and a decision by the Montclair Town Council banned parking on parks of Essex Street. For the Ice rink and pool, signs direct motorists to a parking lot which connects to a parking lot of the Walnut Street Railway Station.

Ice Rink Privatization

In 2008, the township of Montclair was looking for ways to lower its budget and as part of a series of budget cuts and cancellations decided that the ice rink at Essex Park, the Clary Anderson Arena, should be privatized. Montclair residents worried that entry fees might increase and that the quality of service would go down, and the township decided to retain authority in some way over the rink while having it operated privately.

References