Restore 'oasis' on Ocean Avenue

My family spent summers here in Long Branch since the early 1940s and purchased property on Cottage Place in the early 1950s.

At that time, Ocean Avenue was a wide street. The big hurricane changed that. It took away the boardwalk and half of the street in West End. The remaining lane was closed due to storm erosion and determined to be unsafe for constant traffic resulting in the construction of Ocean Boulevard. The city wants to reopen Ocean Avenue to traffic in addition to making changes on nearby streets.

They're concerned about the attendance at the Cottage Place beach. It is much smaller than the others and there is a street drainage sewer pipe on the other side of the jetty making it less desirable to use. Access to the beach by the elderly or disabled is nearly impossible. The comfort station has been closed for years and beachgoers must use portable toilets.

Cottage Place may be a dead-end street, but the number of people who use it as access to their dwellings is very high - The Beach House, Sea Verge, Max's, private homes.

To make this street a one-way would be a disaster. Changing to diagonal parking will amount to minimal additional spaces. There are eight driveways on this short block, with one spanning more than half the block.

For over 50 years, adults and children from all over have come to enjoy Ocean Avenue. There's no urgent need to change this oasis we've come to love.

Consider instead ways to improve it, beautify it, restore it to its glory. Paint the street green again. Fix the boardwalk, the comfort station, the fence and bring back the flower pots!

Rose Marie Buono

Long Branch