Princeton Recreation Department to Take Over Park Maintenance Oversight

The Autumn Hill Reservation in Princeton.
The Autumn Hill Reservation in Princeton.

The Princeton Recreation Department is taking over administering the maintenance of all town parks.

“The most common complaint we heard from people was that they didn’t know who to call for park issues. Did they call public works or recreation?” Princeton Recreation Department Executive Director Ben Stentz said. “With consolidation this has become simpler, but not that much. We wanted to address this by streamlining communication and creating one-stop shopping.”

Residents should report all their concerns about parks to the recreation department, whether something needs to be fixed or a resident spots something dangerous.

“This will help us keep all out parks clean and safe so they remain inviting to all our residents.” Stentz said. “This will apply to all our parks, whether they are pocket parks, larger parks or open space. We want all our facilities to be inviting for people to be in whether they are skateboarding, walking, jogging, or playing basketball.”

Staff members in the recreation department will keep track of all the issues residents report and coordinate with the public works department to make sure complaints are followed up on.

“It’s a major shift in responsibility. It is a lot more work for our staff,” Stentz said. “It is a very ambitious plan, but that is where we like to be. That is the space we want to be in.”

Issues can be emailed to parks@princetonnj.gov. When the town implements the new online system for reporting town issues, See Click Fix, residents will be able to report problems online and post photos of issues.

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Krystal Knapp is the founding editor of Planet Princeton. Follow her on Twitter @krystalknapp. She can be reached via email at editor AT planetprinceton.com. Send all letters to the editor and press releases to that email address.