Gov. Phil Murphy signed an executive order April 7 closing all state and county parks
amid the coronavirus pandemic, in an effort to further social distancing guidelines.
The closure of parks was announced on the same day the state faced the highest,
single-day increase in COVID-19 fatalities, with 232 new deaths. That brought the
state’s total to 1,232 as of the order’s signing.
Murphy said the closure of parks was in response to state residents not following stay-
at-home orders to help lessen the spread of COVID-19.
“My administration’s top priority is to flatten the curve of new COVID-19 cases, so we do
not create a surge within our health care systems and overwhelm the health care
professionals who are managing our response on the front lines,” said Murphy. “We
have seen far too many instances in our parks where people are gathering and
socializing in groups and by closing these areas, we are further limiting public
interactions to only the most essential purposes.”
He added that the state sees encouraging signs that reported new positive virus cases
per day may start to go down in the near future.
“Data shows that our aggressive efforts to flatten the curve are beginning to make a
difference; however, we must continue our push to flatten it to the point where our day-
over-day increase is zero,” Murphy said.
Following the governor’s executive order, local municipalities and police departments
mobilized to shut down and close off local parks within their borders. Due to size and
the sheer number of parks and/or playgrounds, the task can be challenging.
Public Information Officer Jason Gittens of the Gloucester Township Police Department
says the township has 80 different playgrounds that the Department of Public Works
taped off and closed. The township also placed signs at parks notifying residents they
cannot be used due to health and safety concerns related to COVID-19.
“For the most part, everybody’s been following the executive order and we haven’t seen
problems at our local parks,” Gittens said.
Officers patrol the currently closed areas throughout the day and remind residents they
are not permitted to be on playground or park equipment. Potentially the most used
park, Veteran’s Park next to municipal hall, also features a walking and running track
along its perimeter. According to the executive order, the trail had to be closed and
officers will admonish residents who attempt to use it.
Lieutenant and Emergency Management Coordinator Brian Grady of Mantua Township
says the municipality is cooperating with the park closures. He said the township took
measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by shutting down the playgrounds within
those parks prior to the governor’s order.
“They were actually shut down prior to the order,” Grady said. “We had a proactive
approach to this topic, shutting down those playgrounds actually weeks before the
executive order.
“It was a township decision to be a little more proactive. We kept the walking trails open
until the executive order,” he added.
Grady says Chestnut Branch Park has a physical barrier blocking its entrance so cars
cannot get in, while three other parks are patrolled by officers throughout the day to
ensure visitors are not violating the executive order.
As the weather gets better and the pandemic potentially keeps parks closed, Grady
does not envision increased violations of the executive order.
“I don’t think residents are going to push the issue too much,” he added. “Everyone
within our township, at least thus far, has been pretty understanding as to what we’re
trying to do in keeping people safe. I think if there were to be pushback it would’ve
already happened by now.
“If this does go into the summertime, I expect residents to already be used to it by then
and it shouldn’t put any kind of a serious strain on our department.”
According to Chief Millard Wilkinson of the Berlin Police Department, Berlin Borough
has Berlin Park, a part of the Camden County Parks System, within its borders, as well
as three playgrounds within developments and the playground at Berlin Community
School.
Prior to the executive order, the playgrounds had already been closed due to the
pandemic, eliminating a constant need to clean them.
“To decontaminate those playgrounds on a regular basis throughout the day, to monitor
it would’ve been too much logistically,” Wilkinson said. “So it was just easier to shut
them down.”
As it pertains to the playgrounds and Berlin Park, Wilkinson said the department has
officers who pass by various locations to ensure the order is being followed. The chief
was of the opinion that equipment such as slides, basketball nets and jungle gyms
should be disassembled or temporarily removed, then cleaned and reassembled when
allowed.
