A $750,000 track ?

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CRANBURY — The Board of Recreation Commission got the go-ahead from the Township Committee to continue plans for a new six-lane track in Cranbury.

At the committee meeting Monday, the commission explained the benefits of a six-lane track, estimated to cost about $750,000.

There aren’t many middle school tracks in the region so Cranbury and its businesses would benefit from the other towns and schools that would come in to use the track, said Beth Veghte, chairwoman of the commission.

The new track also may reduce the cost of transportation for the track team since more than half of its meets could be at home with the new track, she explained.

The track also would provide a weekend practice area for Cranbury students on the Princeton High School track and field team, explained Lynne Fox, a member of the board.
Ms. Veghte also mentioned the track could be used extensively for community events such as the Drug Free Fair and Cranbury Day.

The only thing the commission was asking for from the committee was permission to form a subcommittee to pursue the plans for a new track.

The subcommittee would consist of the Recreation Commission; Evelyn Spann, who would be the Board of Education representative; Committeeman Dan Mulligan, who would be the Township Committee liaison; and others, Ms. Veghte explained.

The track would potentially be built around one of Cranbury’s existing soccer fields.

The middle of the track also would have a long jump, high jump and shot put area as well as pole vault poles and bars.

http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2011/03/04/cranbury_press/news/doc4d6fd55396343992649875.txt

[Guest]

This got my attention too. But it sounds, not unlike the latest library plan, like they intend to 100% pay for it from fundraising and no Township or School dollars were approved. We'll see if this lasts. Presumably they will need to get a big enough fund to endow the ongoing maintenance expenses too.

In any event, hopefully they have learned the lessons from the ballfield and if they do built it someone competent will be clearly in charge and everyone will carefully review the plans and progress.

[Guest]

Maintenance is >250k / 10 years

>25K every year

8 month season.... >3K / month

>$100 per day for maintenance alone during the season

And that is maintenance alone - we need a good fundraiser for that!

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As was said at the meeting the town could set fees and lease the the track. So it costs nothing to the town and the maintenance could be recouped through lease fees. Also, doesn't our school have a track team?

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Is raising $25,000 per year through fees really possible? How much would other schools and towns really be willing to pay?

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The first 500 grand for the library is taxpayer

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built a baseball field without a team, then proposed buying a PNC building to solve a parking NONproblem, an now a track without a team. We dont even have a highschool in cranbury who can use it for track meets. Isnt the school budget bloated enough?

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..... and new ordinances to force you to shovel your sidewalks in the subdivisions around the town - sidewalks which noone ever uses in these subdivisions ..... let's get the speed limit on Rt 130 down to 35mph in case one of our kids might someday cross 130 ... and on and on .......

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[Guest111]

The insane must be running the asylum

Let's talk tracks - urethane full pour or sandwich system? Banked or flat? Fenced? Illuminated? Uniformity ratio, min max ratio, fcandles? Drainage necessary no exceptions, jogging lane? Curb? Cleaning? D zone for field events?

Litter collection, vandalism, scheduling, event management, drying all add addional cost. Who will be picking up these costs?

Cranbury is not prepared to have a track and it is unlikely the folks considering a track have any experience other than running on one. The $250k is typical for an over pour typical in 8 to 10 tears but second round usually requires removal, macadam repair and new urethane.

Let's get real when considering recreational opportunities, no matter the source of funding.

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I think with the way times are nowadays, we should focus on needs rather than wants. The dam needs repair. Let's pay for that, then move forward. I think those repairs are a "need". Track would be great, but do we "need" it?

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[Guest]

What can the community do on the track?

50 years old do the high jump? Javelin? 100m run? Run 400m around the track over and over again? How many people in the community will use the facility? Should there be a household survey?

We have lots of passive recreation - walking - that not too many people use with our trails and sidewalks.

Baseball field was financed by a grants, but are we not stuck with maintenance? And are the maintenance figures in the paper accurate? Are there grants for maintaining a track after it has been built?