Note: The original rent agreement was requested by the WPA and neither Hudson County nor Union City can find the agreement, which should help clarify how our Hudson County Park land can and cannot be developed.   

Unlike recent park improvements in all other sections of the 21-acre Hudson County park the WPA was not included in this planning, not consulted or even made aware of the desire to add yet more recreational space to a historic 100 year old park, which in present day already boast 4 great baseball fields, 9 tennis courts, 4 basketball courts, a soccer field and a volleyball court.

PARK #3

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Note: All the X's on the conceptual plan below are old growth trees over 80 years old. These are the same species of tree lining Las Ramblas in Barcelona dating back to the 18th century. Sycamores can grow for as long as 500 to 600 hundred years. Union City's plan is to remove 17 of these sycamores along with many other scrubs and smaller trees. 

Note: There are no bath rooms or bleachers planned for this larger multi-purpose baseball, soccer, and football field. 

WPA Park #3 Planning Concerns over Proposed

Multi-Purpose Field Expansion

As of 12/20/10

Community Input

1. Citizens Advisory Committee

2. We want representation at all meetings going forward with the design team, at bid opening, and drafts of construction contracts including the final agreed to contract to avoid budget cutting.

3. Community Visioning Process

4. Community Based Planning Process

5. Project to meet LEED Gold Certification guidelines for any buildings.

Traffic & Parking

1. Designate parking areas around the park to handle additional parking needs. They should be metered for all “visitors”

2. Close Second Street to thru traffic and make it residential traffic only. Or, at the very least no jitneys or buses.

3. Make all surrounding streets for 3-block radius for resident only parking. And time limits on the other side for 3 hours max.

4. Bike racks installed at Soccer field and new multi-purpose field.

Lighting

1. Understand and address fact that residents are not happy with the current light configuration and hours of light usage in the park.

2. All field lights must be out no later than 10 or 10:30PM.

3. All lights on all recreational facilities in the park must have protective shields on them to keep light from illuminating the sky and the homes of residents. Automatic motion detectors where they turn off after 5 minutes of no movement.

4. Add to current zoning and signing regulation being drafted now that any sign, parking or ancillary lighting source or projected field of illumination is visible or glare from any residential window or vehicle window.

5. Streetlights along 2^nd Street shielded from going into homes.

Sound

1. All sound systems must have MAX volume limits built into the system at an agreed upon decibel level.

2. No sound systems can be in use after 10 or 10:30PM.

Landscaping

1. We'd like 100 trees to be planted in and surrounding Washington Park to replace the old growth trees taken down. Trees will be planted along the entire length of Second Street, along Palisade Avenue on both sides of the park, and along both sides of Paterson Plank Road or where the road is next to the park.

2. Incorporate vertical gardens on all retaining walls where appropriate.

3. Incorporate terraced learning gardens/community gardens in lieu of straight retaining walls where appropriate.

4. Artificial turf field must include a built-in drainage system to capture grey water in a cistern and include pumps and pipelines to use water for irrigation to maintain gardens in and around the park and for a pond.

5. We’d like to have a traffic study done to determine if New York Avenue can be closed and the street covered with a grassy lawn, creating a central plaza and a memorial park along parameters designed to reflex the park's rich history. This area should contain a small yet formal rose garden, passive reading areas, small fish/sailing pond with goldfish.

6. All walkways and new sidewalks around the park replaced with brick pervious sidewalk and paving materials to prevent storm water run off.

7. A planting and landscape plan will be submitted to the WPA for approval prior to bidding, contract award, and implementation.

ADA and Access

1. Stairs constructed on both sides of the field to lead up to the upper level of the park.

2. Increased ADA access. A complete ADA Compliance Plan is now required at this ball field is now considered a "central facility" and up to 20% of the total budget must now be spent planning an accessible path from all parts of the entire park to this facility as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. A minimum number of hours per week (30) set aside for PUBLIC use of the field. The public would have "first rights" to the field and a fair and easy request system put in place to handle such needs.

Other

a. Current graffiti cleaned/removed from Palisade Ave. retaining wall

b. All chain link fences repaired in Park #3 between upper and lower level

c. Better “healthy” food options mandated at all concession stands in Washington Park.