Chestnut Branch Park has four new handicapped-accessible picnic tables that opened to the public on July 20.
The wooden tables were added near the park’s playground. Each has a small pathway designed to be accessible to wheelchair users, with an elongated top to provide a comfortable amount of space and a light blue line on one side.
“The idea was that we didn’t have handicap-accessible picnic tables here,” said park Director Scott Hellerman. “So, it was a really easy process to get approved by the council.
“This is all ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant materials,” he added. “It makes it ADA compliant because it (each table) is extra long and they can get underneath with the wheelchair.”
The project began in early spring and took four months to complete, according to Hellerman. The township got help from local Boy Scout Evan Godsey of Mullica Hill, who assisted with the installation of the tables as part of his Eagle Scout project and used old tables found in the woods of the park to put them together at a nearby farm.
“They were up in the woods, and we knew about them for years,” Hellerman noted. “What our scout did was he took the bases out of the woods, went to a farm in Mullica Hill, redid all the wood, and cleaned up the frames.”
Aspiring Eagle Scouts have also helped with other park projects, including the shed in Chestnut Branch Park’s butterfly garden.
“The work is always innovative and professionally done, and has enhanced our park’s atmosphere.” said Mantua Mayor Robert Zimmerman of the Scouts’ efforts. “We’re grateful and appreciate the work of these young leaders in our community.”
The new tables are the first step in making the park more accessible to Mantua residents. It will also get an all-inclusive spinner playground set.
“I’m interested in helping any way possible for handicap accessibility and whatever we can do,” Hellerman noted. “My goal is to add amenities to the park, not just handicapped-accessible stuff, but amenities to the park that are also helping the Eagle Scouts to get their projects done.”
