Be Fit

Fitness park off to running start in Wildwood Crest

By TRUDI GILFILLIAN Staff Writer, (609) 463-6716
Published: Tuesday, October 2, 2007

WILDWOOD CREST - Mayor Carl Groon summed up what made the borough's new fitness park different from similar settings in other cities and towns.
"(It is) a great park overlooking one of the best beaches in the world," Groon said as the park was officially opened Monday afternoon.

Jogging with an ocean view - what jogger could ask for more?

The name fitness park, however, is being used for lack of a better term, Commissioner Don Cabrera explained.

The park features a jogging path, five laps of which equal slightly more than a mile, but otherwise it is primarily a place to stop and relax thanks to the lush green lawn and plenty of comfortable benches.

The original plan was to have six to eight fitness stations with balance beams and other exercise aids, but they were not included in the final project budget of $475,000.
Cabrera hopes that a private donor will provide the approximately $30,000 needed to put that part of the park into action.

Meanwhile, residents and visitors alike have a new place to spend their time.

In fall 2006, Cabrera introduced the idea of turning two vacant borough-owned lots between Forget-Me-Not and Palm roads at Ocean Avenue into the fitness park with the help of money being returned to the county's municipalities by the Cape May County freeholders.

The money was the result of an ample 2006 budget surplus, which the county opted to use to encourage communities to make recreation or quality-of-life improvements.

The county set aside $3.8 million for those projects and Wildwood Crest received more than $156,000 to put towards the property's transformation from sandy, weed-covered lot to an inviting place to play.

In addition to the fitness stations, Cabrera said there are also plans to add an entertainment area for concerts and puppet shows.

The lots covered about 4,000 square feet and the jogging path measures 1,069 feet with five laps equaling just over a mile at 5,345 feet.

Cabrera credited the county and local residents for supporting the project.

"The park improves our recreation and our quality of life," Cabrera said.


To e-mail Trudi Gilfillian at The Press: