End of GSP path from Upper Township was put on hold
SOMERS POINT — The state New Jersey Turnpike Authority built a popular pedestrian and bicycle path when it reconstructed the Garden State Parkway bridge over Great Egg Harbor Bay.
It formed a convenient and scenic connection between the city and the Beesleys Point section of Upper Township in Cape May County, which had been missing since the Route 9 bridge was demolished decades ago.
The multi-use path was built as part of a larger project to replace the southbound span of the Great Egg Harbor Bridge and to rehabilitate the northbound span.
The former southbound GSP span was demolished, as was the Beesleys Point Bridge off Route 9, according to information from the NJTA.
In 2016, work on the southbound span was completed.
As late as 2019, the path was open only on the Beesleys Point side because Somers Point did not have the infrastructure needed for users to safely get to Somers Point-Mays Landing Road and north to the city’s existing bike path.
The city undertook much or all of the necessary work to get its end of the path open, but one glaring safety issue remains. Users must cross the exit ramp where automobiles are coming off a 65 mph roadway, to get to Route 9.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation has promised to build a bridge over the exit ramp but recently told the city it was on hold.
City Council adopted a resolution Sept. 14 requesting the DOT reconsider delaying construction of the bridge.
Council President Janice Johnston said the DOT still plans to build the bridge but has put it off until 2027.
“We are asking them to reconsider. It is very dangerous for bikers and pedestrians trying to get to the path over the bridge,” Johnston said.
Mayor Jack Glasser plans to send a letter to the DOT.
Amazing summer
Johnston noted the Somers Point Concerts on the Beach series wrapped up its 30th year Sept. 8, thanking its organizers and promoters for another successful season.
“What an amazing summer we had,” Johnston said. “Every single Friday night I looked out at that beach and there just wasn’t an inch of empty sand, people standing on the pier and on boats out in the water.”
The live beach performances, named Best Outdoor Concert Series in America via a USA Today poll, are organized by Tony Marts Presents founders Carmen and Nancy Marotta.
“I see how much work they all do and I want to publicly thank them,” Johnston said, noting the events “bring a lot of people to our town that go to our restaurants, go to our stores.”
City resident Patricia Pierson, a frequent commenter and oft-critic of the governing body, was uncharacteristically flattering.
“I want to compliment the City Council and the president for speaking about Carmen Marotta and beach concerts. When somebody lives in this town and brings you the No. 1 beach concert in the whole country and it’s Carmen Marotta and it’s Somers Point, you really better recognize it,” she said.
Glasser called the beach concerts “another great thing about Somers Point.”
“The Beach Concert Committee has done a great job for the city,” Glasser said. “Let the good times roll, as Carmen says.”
The mayor also congratulated the Good Old Days Festival Committee, led by Councilman Sean McGuigan.
The festival, which is held intentionally after the shore’s summer guests have gone home, is an annual tradition held at John F. Kennedy Memorial Park. This year the event was the day after the concert series ended, making for a great weekend in the city by the bay.
“Councilman McGuigan has done a fabulous job. In my 16 years as mayor, it has been an honor to be out there. That one festival is for Somers Point. Bayfest draws people from other towns but locals flock to it. It’s an outstanding day for the city,” Glasser said.
McGuigan noted it “takes an army of volunteers.”
“It’s a pleasure putting that together,” he said.
“I know it’s a passion for you because you have a love for the city,” Glasser replied.
“The Good Old Days festival was fantastic, it came off without a hitch,” Councilman Mike Owen said, noting the addition of the Somers Point Arts Commission’s Art in the Park helped “completely cover the entire park” and was “added value.”
More police
The mayor urged City Council to start thinking about increasing staffing at the Somers Point Police Department.
He said due to budget constraints, the department is having to respond to calls that require more manpower than can be deployed on the street, leaving the city “under-protected at times.”
“I ask council to seriously consider increasing police department staffing. We need to keep replacing officers who retire,” Glasser said.
Budgeting
City resident Maureen Helbig asked council whether it had yet formed its budget committee for next year, expressing concern about city revenues.
This year, the city’s $19,532,652 spending plan required a tax rate increase of 8.36 cents to $1.11 per $100 of assessed value. The increase amounts to $83 on every $100,000, or about $166 on an average-assessed home of $200,000.
The municipal tax rate has increased 28 cents, or 34 percent, over the past 10 years. The rate was 83 cents per $100 in 2014, rising to $1.11 in 2023.
Earlier in the meeting, the city voted to remove paid parking in city-owned lots from its regulations. City Council also recently voted against allowing cannabis businesses to operate in the city, against the advice of planner John Helbig (husband of Maureen Helbig). In addition, problems with a gate at the city boat ramp prevented its use as a paid service.
“We just missed an opportunity to have paid parking as an option, cannabis as an option — the revenue is going to happen but not for us and people are going to shop in other towns — we didn’t have the benefit from the boat ramps this year. I’m concerned for next year’s budget and wanted to see who was going to be on the budget committee and see what revenue projections are,” she said.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff