For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Tittel, NJ Sierra Club, 609-558-9100
Today [May 14], Governor Murphy announced that park bathrooms will reopen as long as they are kept clean. He warned that it will take time for all parks to get staffing levels back up to open bathrooms at every park. Earlier this week, the New Jersey Sierra Club sent a letter to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection expressing concern about keeping bathroom facilities closed in state parks.
“Finally, good to go! New Jersey has reopened the bathrooms in state parks. The best way to stop people from using the parks as bathrooms is to reopen the bathrooms. Instead of just yelling about people doing the wrong thing, the state listened to our letter and listened to common sense. This is important because people exercising or enjoying open space with their families need access to bathrooms, especially if they’ve traveled a distance to get there,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “This will help the people of New Jersey safely enjoy the outdoors during the public health emergency.”
On April 7, 2020 Governor Murphy signed Executive Order 118 directing all state parks and forests to close until further notice. This closure applies to all park lots, grounds, facilities, trails, and playgrounds. His order to reopen county, state parks, and golf courses went into effect on May 2nd.
“Now that the bathrooms are opened in state parks, the state needs enough staff to enforce social distancing and to keep the bathrooms clean. We need to make sure people can enjoy the parks safely. Having open bathroom facilities means that people across New Jersey can enjoy passive recreation and hiking while maintaining social distancing. It is important that the state is protecting public health and safety by reopening some bathroom facilities,” said Jeff Tittel, Director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “These parks belong to all of us. Now we can finally use the bathrooms as long as we continue to practice social distancing.”