L.B. Skateplex fulfills
county parks obligation

Monmouth County’s new "Skateplex" is scheduled to open in Long Branch in little over a month. Kudos should go to the county’s park system for making it a reality.

This surely was not an easy project for the park system to undertake, given the liability possibilities, but the Board of Recreation Commissioners, to their credit, took it on.

In a time when the lack of recreational opportunities for youngsters and young adults is often lamented, the park system has stepped into the void. There is no need for organized sports here. Just bring your skates, lace them up and roll out to a good time. The park service is offering options: an undulating, obstacle-filled course for those wanting a serious challenge and a flat roller rink for those who prefer a tamer approach to their sport. Either way, they win.

The courses, of course, are open to skaters of all ages who would like a little fun and exercise.

The "Skateplex" is a regional facility that will draw those from a wide area who want to recreate. But the decision of the Board of Recreation Commissioners to locate the facility in North Long Branch speaks well for its effort to provide opportunities in the urban areas of Monmouth County.

The Monmouth County Park System in recent years has come under considerable scrutiny and some criticism for expanding park and recreational facilities in western Monmouth County, where open spaces still abound, at the expense of the more developed eastern part of the county.

The park system has taken some steps to correct this imbalance, but none has been so bold as to locate what promises to be such a popular facility as a "Skateplex" in urban Long Branch. Lovely and well-loved Seven Presidents Park couldn’t be a better location.

So hail to the Monmouth County Park System — and may we see more of the same in the future.