Jersey City’s Reservoir No. 3 – used as a drinking water source for more than a century – was reopened to the public on Tuesday after about four years of renovations.What Mayor Steven Fulop described as a $4 million investment in improvements – with more to come – drew some 50 visitors as the city marked the occasion with a ribbon-cutting.Since the reservoir was decommissioned in the 1980s, the city has used the 13-acre property, filled with trees and wildlife as a passive recreation site but in recent years had been neglected and shuttered during COVID.Access to visitors this week was limited to a 1-mile “ADA-compliant” trail looping around the interior of the 13-acre property. Fulop said that because the prior dirt trail was deemed unsafe, the city opted to change it to a more secure and wider gravel surface.  Along the path’s perimeter, new wrought-iron fencing and pole lamps – modeled after lights in New York’s Central Park – and a pedestrian bridge parallel to Jefferson Avenue – were installed, along with a handful of benches.When the next phases of upgrades are completed – remediation of algae in the reservoir pond and restoration of two historic buildings, a screen house and pump house – Fulop predicted the property would be “a model of accessibility and open space.”The mayor singled out for tribute the late Ward D Councilmember Michael Yun as having been an ardent “champion of the project.”And City Council President Joyce Watterman also credited Yun and Ward C Councilmember Rich Boggiano for fighting to get the job done and the site reopened.“Jersey City people deserve a little rain forest,” she added.Ward D Councilmember Yousef Saleh said he “intended to carry through” the goal of his predecessor for all residents, including the Jersey City Reservoir Alliance and Boy Scout Troop 466 whose members have learned outdoor skills at the site for many years.Laura Skolar, a longtime city parks advocate, added that, “the vision was to preserve the reservoir and today, this vision has come to fruition as a creation of love and it will only get better.” Such things as picnic areas and a boat launch could be “down the line,” she said.Among Tuesday’s visitors happy to return to the reservoir was close-by neighbor Geoffrey Gefers, who said he’s been using Pershing Field, which borders the reservoir’s northern end, for walking.Now that the reservoir is an option, Gefers anticipates making full use of the upland trail while enjoying “the natural setting, calm and serene.”Several women pushed baby strollers along the trail without incident while other folks jogged around it.Some folks were upset about the city ripping out trees and bushes from the trail, thereby creating gaps in the reservoir’s natural setting but city officials said overgrowth and erosion were pushing out reservoir wall stones, creating a hazard to pedestrians walking below.Photo: Jennifer BrownPhoto: Jennifer BrownPhoto: Jennifer BrownCouncilman Yusef Saleh on walkway. Photo: Ron LeirJersey City installed 20 aerators to help keep the water flowing in hopes of clearing algae. Photo: Ron LeirSarah Burroughs says the city needs to remove invasive species and secure trail surfacing. A city posting explaining history of Reservoir 3 has been effaced by vandals.Barkha Patel, city Infrastructure Director, said the city plans to fill in those spaces by planting wildflowers.But, along other sections of the trail, there are alarming interior gaps where someone unfamiliar with the terrain could slip and fall down a steep slope through the underbrush headlong into the pond below. Sarah Burroughs, an educator on disability inclusion and a former president of the city Reservoir Preservation Alliance, said that the city needed to add more edging along vulnerable sections of the trail, both “to prevent stones from eroding and a person from sliding off.”Burroughs said the Alliance, with help from the city forester, had a number of existing trees tagged for removal because they were considered a hazardous species that also attracted lantern flies but many of those trees remaining standing.Asked about those safety concerns, Patel said she would check on possible remedies for the trail gaps. As for the tree issue, Patel said she believed the city had removed the trees “tagged as invasive species,” but would re-check with those responsible for that job.Another issue of concern to some residents is the fact that the public has – for now – been blocked from accessing the reservoir’s lower trails closer to the water pending remediation of the algae-filled pond. The city has installed 20 underwater aerators to help create movement in the pond in hopes this will help act as a partial cleansing agent. Until the cleanup is deemed complete, the city prefers to keep those lower trails off limits to the public.No timetable has been placed on when that work will be done.Closing off access irks longtime reservoir visitor John Preston, who says that by doing so, the city “has turned a nature place into a park.”Preston, a Heights resident who used to run a city recreation-sponsored fishing program at the reservoir, recalls how the city “took inner-city kids off the street for day trips,” including the reservoir. “Families would spend the whole day – they’d bring a lunch basket and enjoy nature. Numerous close friendships were formed here.”Greg Fuehrer, a Troop 466 committee member, recalled the many visits to the reservoir by scouts for fishing, kayaking, environmental science and sustainability maintenance projects.Fuehrer is also hoping for the quick reopening of trails closer to the water’s edge. “That’s when you feel you’ve left the city,” he said. “And the fishing is fantastic – catfish, bass, sunnies, turtles.”The big attraction, he said, is “working with scouts or kids in general to teach outdoor skills without leaving the city.”Eventually, the hope is to restore some youth- and family-related activities to the reservoir, Patel said.Along the main trail, visitors will find no trash baskets – and that’s by design, according to Patel. It’s expected that people will bring bags to dispose of any wastes and take those bags with them when they leave, she said.Patel said the city is contemplating putting in more seating areas but of a kind that will blend into the natural surroundings.No bike riding is permitted within the reservoir.The reservoir, which is accessible via the entranceway opposite the Pershing pool along Pershing Plaza/Howie Fink Way, will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, at least until winter when it may close at 6 p.m., Patel said.The post Pershing Reservoir 3 Reopens After Upgrades, Still No Access to Water appeared first on Jersey City Times.