Group would rename, enhance L.B. boardwalk

Group would rename, enhance L.B. boardwalk
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer
Agroup of Long Branch residents is proposing a plan to create a unified boardwalk along the city's oceanfront that would feature art installations and a historical theme.

Save Ocean Avenue Committee member Dennis Sherman spoke during the July 28 workshop portion of the council meeting to discuss the committee's list of priorities to enhance the boardwalk.

The first priority listed by the group, which is working in conjunction with the Long Branch Historical Society, is to rename the Long Branch boardwalk.

"We are proposing for you to put forth a resolution to rename the boardwalk Seven Presidents Ocean Walk," Sherman said while presenting the council and administration with copies of the plans.

Sherman said he previously presented this idea, and the reaction was positive.

"The thought of creating a unified walk from West End all the way up through Seven Presidents Park [is something] all of you said was a good idea and would support," he said.

Since the previous meeting with the city, Sherman said, the committee has met with people and groups around the city, including the Long Branch Historical Society and Monmouth Health Center.

"Since that time, we have been meeting with local groups, talking to different people to get ideas about the ocean walk," he said. "The ocean walk is based on the [fact] that Long Branch has the unique oceanfront that no other Jersey Shore community has.

"It has clubs, it has beautiful beaches, it has some of the finest mix of venues," he added.

Sherman went on to cite West End, Pier Village, the Great Lawn and Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park as attractions that draw people to the area.

"The Long Branch oceanfront is probably one of the most beautifully unique all up and down the Jersey Shore," he said. "No one can match what we have."

One of the major thrusts of the plan is to incorporate more art and history onto the boardwalk.

Save Ocean Avenue, working in conjunction with the historical association, has proposed a plan to tell the history of Long Branch along the ocean walk.

"We have been meeting with the historical association; they have a plan to put up five plaques," Sherman said. "They would start where the grand hotels were and take us back through history."

Plans also call for a replica of the city seal to be placed on the walk.

Sherman cited the city's rich history as an inspiration for the plan.

"Long Branch is unique because the seven presidents visited here with many other famous people from the era," he said. "We want to bring the history back with the ocean walk."

Renaming the boardwalk is just one of the priorities of the committee, he said.

"We are asking you to not only pass the resolution, but to help us with the other priorities," Sherman said.

According to information he distributed at the meeting, some other priorities include creating artistic archways, additional flower pots and benches, improvements to the boards and railings along the boardwalk, improving the pedestrian crossing on Ocean Boulevard, and the creation of an art walk.

"We can have mosaics along the concrete slabs of the boardwalk," Sherman said. "There are plans to fix the boardwalk; there are plans for the railings. Where the boardwalk indents and goes out, [we want to] build some trellises."

Sherman acknowledged that some of the plans might be easier to put into place, while others, like extending the bike path, would be more involved.

"We want to extend the bike path from South Bath all the way up to Morris Avenue," he said. "There will be plenty of room for people to get up and back.

"There are problems with it, and Mr. [William] Richards [director of public safety] is working on that," he added. "That is one of our goals and will probably be one of the toughest ones."

Sherman cited increased projected revenues as a reason to get the plans accomplished, but in the end, he sees the improvements as creating a place where people can be active and enjoy Long Branch.

"If you're a biker or a walker or a jogger, you will be doing all of this through art, sculptures, murals, paintings and history," he said. "Long Branch is unique. We have a jewel; we have a boardwalk that can tie all the parts that developed over the years and that will develop."

Save Ocean Avenue members are Sherman and city residents Bill McLaughlin, Mary Jean Lepis, Bob Kenyon and Wally Bruchman. The group can be reached via the website at http://www.saveoceanave.com/.

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com.


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