Westwood Planning Changes to Veterans' Park

Veterans' Memorial Park in Westwood may be seeing some upgrades sometime soon.

Borough Planner Ed Snieckus explained the plans he had designed for the triangular portion of park between Third Avenue, Park Avenue and Madison Avenue at the Westwood Council meeting Tuesday night.

Snieckus said the park will retain most of its existing features, such as the bandstand, trees, and irrigation system. The paths and benches will be reworked to create a more "pastoral look" and the path around the perimeter of the bandstand will be expanded with brick pavers to make a multi-use plaza area. Snieckus described the park as a "green jewel" in the center of town.

"From a planning perspective, I think Westwood is very unique in the sense of what type of park it has adjacent to the downtown," Snieckus said.

Council member Peter Grefrath said he is currently seeking any residents who are interested in donating money for memorial benches to be placed in the park.

Snieckus said he will also be looking at the portion of the park between Madison Avenue, Washington Avenue, Park Avenue and the train station, but he will have to consult with veterans' organizations first, as there are several memorials in this section of the park. There are no plans to alter the memorials, but some of the surrounding landscaping and paths may be changed, Snieckus said.