Fair Haven, N.J., is moving forward with an inclusive playground at McCarter Park, a project designed to give children with mobility, sensory and developmental disabilities a place to play alongside their peers in one of the borough's main neighborhood parks.
The borough of about 6,100 residents on the Navesink River in Monmouth County has posted an invitation to bid for the construction work. Inclusive playgrounds of this type typically cost between $400,000 and $1.5 million depending on scope, and involve specialized equipment, poured-in-place rubber surfacing for wheelchair and mobility access, and ADA-compliant routes throughout the site.
The project fits a pattern that has reshaped municipal parks across Monmouth County over the past decade. Thompson Park in Lincroft, Tatum Park, and Count Basie Fields in Red Bank have all seen inclusive playground builds, many funded through the county's Open Space Trust Fund and Municipal Open Space Grant program. Across the country, the movement accelerated after 2012, when updated federal ADA standards took effect requiring new or significantly renovated playgrounds to meet specific accessibility requirements for the first time. Towns with older equipment in a gray zone under the original 1990 ADA have been rebuilding rather than retrofitting.
For a borough with Fair Haven's limited commercial tax base, a project like this typically requires bonding, state grants such as New Jersey's Green Acres program, or a combination of both. Per capita, the cost of an inclusive build is substantial for a small town, and the investment signals a deliberate choice to serve children from across the region, not just borough residents.
McCarter Park has been a focus of community attention as Fair Haven has worked through a broader parks master plan. The playground project represents one of the more significant upgrades the borough has undertaken at the site.
Contractor selection will follow the formal bid process now underway. No construction timeline has been publicly announced.
