8. RECREATION PLAN

The Recreation Plan Element covers the comprehensive system of public recreational facilities and assets in Mountain Lakes. The purpose of this element is to help guide and coordinate Borough policies relating to these facilities and assets. Comments and recommendations from representatives of the Recreation Commission were carefully considered in the development of this plan.

RECREATION OVERVIEW/BACKGROUND

Mountain Lakes has a long tradition of an unusually strong commitment to active recreation. A wide variety of recreational activities, organized and informal, is supported by the Borough, directly and indirectly. This is in part the result of the community's commitment to public education. The Borough's public schools are among the best in the state and part of this excellence is reflected in the athletic programs and facilities provided by the local schools. This, however, is only part of the explanation for Mountain Lakes' close association with recreation. A more fundamental factor is in the character of the Borough's population, which among all ages has a strong commitment to active recreation; and that commitment is growing. This is related to the physical nature and layout of the community which has traditionally attracted a population with this characteristic.

The original development of Mountain Lakes as a planned community in the early part of this century emphasized the recreational values associated with its physical features and park-like setting. The lakes in particular have, from the community's beginnings, been major recreational assets attracting a population with an orientation towards active outdoor recreation. The Borough's character as a planned community also supports recreational opportunities to an unusual degree. The large areas of open space support a wide range of recreation, formal and informal.

This plan's continued commitment to active recreation follows a long tradition in Mountain Lakes. The main focus of this plan, however, is to recognize and accommodate some important recreational trends that are reshaping recreational needs in the Borough. Following are some of the major changes and trends relating to recreation in the Borough leading up to this point which form the basis of this plan.

• The use of existing active recreational facilities in Mountain Lakes has increased substantially in recent years.
  
  
• The increased use of recreational facilities is the result of three important trends:
  1. The increased participation by young adults, a group not previously heavily involved in active recreation.
  2. Children are becoming involved in organized active recreational sports at an earlier age than in the past, in many cases as early as 5 or 6 years old.
  3. Larger numbers of girls are becoming actively involved in sports.
  
  
  
• There is more emphasis on regional recreational opportunities and organizations that is also having an impact on increased use of local facilities.
  
  
• The need for additional recreational facilities is primarily felt on weekends when competition for facilities is most acute.
  
  
• The increased, and often continuous, use of active recreational facilities has resulted in the deterioration of many of those facilities, especially playing fields.
  
  
• There are few undeveloped areas left in the Borough that are suitable for the expansion of recreational facilities without unreasonable expense. This fact requires that better and more efficient management of existing facilities must be an important part of satisfying the increased demand.
  
  
• Parents have become more actively involved with their children's recreation. This has had two important results:
  1. More emphasis on a controlled recreational atmosphere.
  2. More emphasis on organized sports.
     
     
• There has been vocal public pressure on the Recreation Commission to expand and improve opportunities and facilities in the Borough for a variety of specific active sports, especially competitive sports. The major sources of this pressure are the parents of younger children involved in organized sports and the sports organizations of and for young adults.
  
  
• If the Borough is to maintain an overall balanced recreational program, emphasis on passive recreational activities will also need to be increased.
  
  
• The main emphasis has traditionally been on recreation for children in Mountain Lakes. In view of a recent demographic trend toward more children in the community, this emphasis should be continued while not neglecting recreational opportunities for adults.
  
  

RECREATION OBJECTIVES

The following are the major recreation-related objectives that should be pursued by Borough officials and should be reflected in Borough policies.

1. Continue the Borough's strong commitment to providing a diversity of recreational opportunities to all its citizens and especially its children.
   
   
2. Expand recreational opportunities to all segments of the Borough population where reasonably possible within the scope of limited resources.
   
   
3. Improve recreational opportunities in the Borough through better management and more efficient utilization of existing facilities while taking advantage of the limited circumstances that will permit an expansion of recreational facilities.
   
   

RECREATION OPPORTUNITIES IN MOUNTAIN LAKES

An important strength of the Borough's recreation system is in its diversity. A wide variety of recreational opportunities exists in Mountain Lakes, many of which are directly or indirectly publicly supported. The importance of continuing this important strength is often overlooked from the point of view of a particular sport or recreational interest. The diversity of recreational interests and constituents in the Borough's population requires a reasonable balancing of recreational resources among a wide variety of activities and interests.

The Borough Recreation Commission and staff have been able to support a wide variety of recreational activities. The responsiveness of the Commission and staff to the desires of various groups and interests is a major asset that brings liabilities. The major assets are the great number of citizens and the wide variety of interests served. The major liabilities are the need to make compromises among various interests for limited resources and the stress that is put upon those resources. The Recreation Commission is very aware of these issues; the recommendations contained in the Recreation Proposals section to address these issues (at the end of this element) were developed in consultation with the Commission.

Existing Lake-oriented Facilities

The following lake-oriented public facilities are currently available in the Borough.

All of the above are active recreation areas. Additional passive recreation areas should be added to the list: Briarcliff Park, the Bird Sanctuary, Memorial Park and areas of Richard M. Wilcox Park beyond Birchwood Beach.

Existing Public Active Recreational Facilities

Active recreation facilities, other than the lake-oriented ones, include a number of ball and play fields, some of which are shared with the schools.

Existing Private and Quasi-public Active Recreational Facilities

Among the private and quasi-public facilities for active recreation in the Borough are:

RECREATION PROPOSALS

The following are the major proposals related to the future of public recreation in Mountain Lakes.

Lakes

The Borough's lakes represent the cornerstone of recreational opportunities in Mountain Lakes. The wide variety of recreational opportunities afforded by them has had a fundamental effect on shaping the character of the community and its population. One result is a population unusually dedicated to active recreation.

As outlined in the Conservation Plan Element, the lakes are experiencing a long-term threat from the natural process of eutrophication which is being accelerated by human activity. As a high priority, Borough policies and programs under the leadership of the Borough Council should be directed at stabilizing the lakes and slowing the process of eutrophication. Unless this occurs, long-term consequences of altering the character of the community will be substantial.

Maintain Commitment to Recreational Diversity

Recreation in Mountain Lakes has long been characterized by a high degree of community participation. In recent years the Recreation Commission has received increased pressure for more commitment of resources to individual sports. While it is appropriate that the Commission continue to be sensitive to the changing desires of the community, it should do this within the context of maintaining the Borough's traditional commitment to a diversity of recreational opportunity. In particular, more emphasis is needed in programs provided to adults and to non-athletic recreational activities.

Management and Efficient Use of Existing Facilities

The Borough has recreation facilities and programs of which the community is justly proud. There are increasing demands on these facilities and programs and the opportunities for major expansions to existing facilities is very limited for fiscal and practical reasons. Notwithstanding the potential for additional facilities on the old Office Court site (see Additional Recreation Facilities section below) more efficient and better management of existing facilities should be a priority for the Recreation Commission. In particular, the Commission and its staff should exert more control as to when facilities are used by individual groups and programs. In exercising this control, priorities should be set by the Commission for the use of the facilities that:

• Foster the Borough's overall recreation goals of maintaining diversity of recreational opportunities.
• Establish an equitable balance between competing recreation demands.
• Provide for the long term "health" and upkeep of playing fields.

Additional Recreational Facilities

This plan notes the acquisition of the Office Court site (Block 6 Lots 12 and 15) by the Borough for open space and recreation purposes because of the growing demand for additional recreation facilities in the Borough. This site, consisting of about 27 acres, is located between Route 46 and Pocono Road near other Borough facilities. Most importantly, it is the last large vacant site in the Borough potentially suitable for active recreational purposes.

The site received approval for an office development in 1988. However, no development has occurred because of the region's excess of office space and the high cost of site development. The high cost results from two factors.

1. The developer's desire to maximize the development on the site by utilizing the numerous areas not easily developed because of topographic and environmental reasons.
2. Soil conditions on a large portion of the site make intensive structural development difficult.

These factors are important considerations that need further investigation by the Borough. However, the use of the site for structurally less intensive recreational purposes is potentially an appropriate and attractive alternative development option. In addition, the size of the site and the variety of conditions it contains points to the need for the development of a specific long range plan for its use.

Management and Maintenance of Playing Fields

Playing fields in the Borough are in many cases deteriorating from overuse. To some extent, this deterioration can be reduced with better field management, preventing their use at times and in weather conditions that are inappropriate. In addition, better maintenance techniques which reduce the effects of soil compaction and reinforce the health of sod should be employed. This will require that fields be periodically taken out of service, a necessary cost for healthy playing fields. In an individual case it may be necessary to redesign and reconstruct a field so it will be better able to withstand heavy use. In most cases, however, more control over when and how playing fields are used and better maintenance techniques are the appropriate policies that should be pursued by the Recreation Commission and staff.

Improvements to Alden L. Haswell Memorial Field

This field, located in the Midvale area, was not constructed for regulation use. In addition, the field has drainage and grading problems (rocks and boulders). Intensive use of the field has exacerbated the poor condition of the field. Despite these problems, the field is an important part of the Borough's recreation infrastructure. As a result, the Borough should seriously consider the reconstruction of the field to solve the problems and make it regulation size.