West Windsor Township is rolling out preliminary plans for not one but two new parks. The one that has been mentioned at each of the last two Council meetings is the Princeton Junction Pocket Park on Alexander Road near Route 571, next to the Valero and 7-Eleven store that were completed late last year. The completion of the construction work on that project now allows the Township to proceed with its park plans (see story above).
The second new park is the Duck Pond Park on Meadow Road. According to a statement released this week by Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, both parks are being designed and developed as envisioned in the Municipal Master Plan as well as the Open Space Utilization Report developed in 2003. The 2003 report was developed by residents organized by Hsueh to study the use of open space in West Windsor Township. Officially known as “The Open Space Utilization Task Force,” the group was comprised of representatives from sports organizations, the Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS), Township Council, the Environmental Commission, and other citizens.
The Princeton Junction Pocket Park occupies only 1.5 acres, between the Valero station and the driveway leading to the Gables senior living complex. The Duck Pond Park, in contrast, will be located on more than 123 acres on Meadow Road, just north of the train line adjacent to the stream known as Duck Pond Run.
According to the mayor’s statement, Duck Pond Park “will be a second ‘community’ park for West Windsor. Proposed facilities will have elements of active recreation including several soccer fields, tennis and basketball courts, a playground, picnic areas, amphitheater, comfort stations, and a pond that may include fishing. Walking or jogging trails will be developed throughout the park.
“The park access drive, parking areas and the pond have already been constructed by the Township. Three illuminated grass soccer fields have also been constructed in concert with the WW-P Soccer Association. Court games and paths are envisioned for the next phase of development. A matching grant of $500,000 from Mercer County has been received to fund much of the development of this park.”
At present, the mayor’s statement continues, “there is no capital budget appropriated for the construction of the Princeton Junction Pocket Park. The initial landscape development is tied to the development of the 7-Eleven at the Valero Gas station. As part of a settlement agreement between the Township and owners of the Valero station, the station owners were permitted to use the park’s 1.5 acres as a staging area for construction by agreeing to clear the pioneer vegetation on the property and then partially re-grade the property once construction was completed. The developer has also agreed to construct walkways, gentle berms and landscape within a portion of the park.”
Friends of West Windsor Open Space (FOWWOS), as a 501(c) 3 organization, has offered to accept charitable donations for the development of the space.
