The Newsmagazine of Long Beach Island and Southern Ocean County

By Gail Travers | on June 15, 2022

Last year, Ship Bottom installed a tall green chain link fence on the east side of the ball field on West Fifth Street and Barnegat Avenue. At the same time, the town removed the safety overhang that would prevent pop-up balls from being expelled from the batting area. While the intention seemed to be baseball safety, it has done the complete opposite.

Routinely, often many times a day, baseballs dangerously catapult out of the park like cannon balls. These balls have hit nearby cars, homes and people. Young children and grandchildren play in and around the homes and catastrophic injuries will occur if this is not remedied immediately.

As a 40-plus-year homeowner in Ship Bottom, we kindly ask for the following requests to be considered before the rush of the busy tourist season:

• Remove the tall green fence along the length of the ball field. It presents a danger as you cannot see hazardous flying objects coming your way when enjoying a walk, a bike ride or watching a tennis match. This unsightly fence does nothing to prevent flying balls, and in fact presents a visual impediment. It is a prison-like visual eyesore, one that dampens the lovely esthetic of the parks area. The town has done a beautiful job maintaining our parks!

• Reinstall the safety fencing overhang above the ball pit.

One would hate to see a child injured with the foresight to prevent such an injury. We look forward to the town’s immediate actions.

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