Welcome from JPL

I, John Linderman, am the owner of the friendsofbrightwood.org domain. I live a couple blocks from Brightwood Park. I walk past the Park almost every day and I often walk into it. You don't have to go very far into the Park before the sound of leaf blowers is overtaken by the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves. If you're not in a hurry -- and Brightwood Park is a good place to not be in a hurry -- you can plunk down on a bench and listen to the birds and the bullfrogs. If you're lucky, you might spot a heron who has quite a different interest in the bullfrogs. You could encounter a jogger, or a dog walker, or a stroller, perhaps the kind that wears comfortable shoes, perhaps the kind with wheels and a baby on board.

Neither I nor the people who have registered here own Brightwood Park. The Park is owned by Westfield, which is a tiny bit unfortunate since it borders Scotch Plains too. Scotch Plains residents don't elect Westfield town officials, so they have less influence over the Park owners than Westfield residents do. But anyone who enjoys the quiet, unspoiled nature of the Park is welcome to this website, and our Westfield members can nudge our officials when the occasions arise.

The creation of this website was occasioned by discussions of inviting a state-wide off-road biking association, JORBA, to create and maintain off-road bike trails in the Park. You can find out more about this elsewhere on this site. It was something that I, and many of the neighbors we contacted, felt would adversely affect the Park and the neighborhood. Most of the registrants of this website signed on because they agreed. You can see a letter I wrote to the July 2 2020 issue of the Westfield Leader here But this is not a single-issue DON'T TOUCH OUR PARK website. We're interested in changing the Park by helping to get rid of invasive species, enhancing learning about nature and the history of Westfield, and maybe doing some fund raising to assist the Town in paying for improvements. We're very much sympathetic to calls for making the greater Westfield area more bicycle friendly and safe for all cyclists.