Survey respondents want fort to be pedestrian-friendly
BY CARA SCHULTZ Correspondent

Commercial mixed-use offices were among the options survey respondents considered.

TINTON FALLS - A town center, boulevards designed for walking, parks and open space, and a mix of housing options are all on the wish list of respondents to a survey on the future of Fort Monmouth's 1,100 acres.

The survey results were presented at a public meeting Oct. 16 at Monmouth Regional High School held to discuss how 300 local community members want to see the Fort Monmouth property redeveloped.

Presentations were made at the meeting by both Tim Delorm of the EDAW consultants and Tony Nelessen of A. Nelessen Associates Inc. The presentation gave the results of multiple surveys that were used to gather public input on the Fort Monmouth redevelopment plan.

The surveys were conducted through four public meetings held earlier this year. The information was gathered by using a visual preference survey, questionnaires and a vision translation workshop.

The visual preference survey showed the participants 147 images, which were divided into 10 categories. According to the A. Nelessen Associates handout, "The individuals then had to rate these images on a scale of -10 to 10 in response to the question: How appropriate is the image you are seeing, now and in the future?"

Participants were asked to answer 78 questions concerning items such as housing, shopping patterns, traffic and commuter patterns, recreation, the environment and historic preservation.

The final part of the survey asked the participants to physically plan what they want for the Fort Monmouth reuse by using paper overlays and colored-coded maps.

"Really the heart of tonight is to feed back what you told us," Delorm said. Overall, the general theme of the presentation demonstrated the idea of creating an environment that is aesthetically pleasing.

The 300 survey participants favored streets with landscaped boulevards throughout the property. They are interested in having appropriate street lighting and plenty of pedestrian crossings.

Participants wanted to create an environment that catered to a walking community.

"Sixty-four percent of you felt that we needed to have a town center. A place that really becomes the center, a place where people go for entertainment and interaction," Delorm said.

In order to have a walking community, participants would like to see a waterfront promenade with a variety of seating areas. Another popular idea is to create pedestrian walkways that would allow for a leisurely stroll in front of large storefront windows.

Additionally, 71 percent of participants wanted less than half of the space to be used solely for recreation and open space. The results of the survey demonstrate that the participants want parks to be part of an everyday experience at the fort property. The participants were also interested in preserving and enhancing the already existing water resources as well as the existing stands of trees.

Housing was also a priority in the plans for the redevelopment of the fort. Sixty-nine percent of participants want less than half of the fort used for housing.

The types of housing that were approved by the survey participants included: single-family houses, residential multi-family buildings for rent or ownership for young professional or older couples, mixed-use buildings with retail on the first floor with loft-type apartments for rent or sale, housing for seniors only and housing for veterans with care facilities.

With the loss of approximately 15,000 jobs due to the fort closing, commercial businesses and offices were a priority for the survey participants. Seventy-two percent want less than half of the fort used for commercial buildings.

The specific types of commercial buildings suggested include: restaurants, outdoor cafes, specialty retail, medical services for veterans, corporate offices, research labs, paved plazas and a marina with a clubhouse.

With the idea of new commercial buildings and offices, ample parking would need to be integrated onto the fort property. Participants wanted to see both linear buildings with interior surface parking and parking structures with a mix of uses at the ground level. If parking lots are needed, participants want to see these lots heavily landscaped.

"We had a vision that we shared with you and that was to seek an appropriate level of redevelopment and economic development that employed very sustainable practices. And we want to end up ultimately with a vision for this fort that is sustainable for our future generations," Delorm said.