FROM THE ECHOES-SENTINEL (Recorder Community Newspapers)
08/15/2006
WARREN TWP. – The eagerly-awaited downtown beautification project, designed to improve busy Mountain Boulevard at and near the Mount Bethel Road intersection, could start as early as next spring, township officials said.
The project is intended to improve the aesthetics in the heart of Warren Township as well as to encourage motorists to drive slower in the downtown area.
The improvements would affect the stretch of Mountain Boulevard between Old Stirling Road and North Road. Sidewalks will also be installed for the mile-long stretch. There will also be planted traffic islands in the middle of the roadway that will consist of turning lanes.
Committeeman Gary Dinardo, who attended a county forum that focused on the project, said some of the ideas include putting in Belgian Block curbing, installing a bike lane within the should, as well as planting trees along the road, and installing Colonial-style street lights.
DiNardo said the county would try to install sidewalks leading up to Helen Street, located off of Mountain Boulevard. While the street itself is in Warren Township, the entrance to the street is technically in Watchung, given how the border was originally delineated.
The project would also include creating, or delineating, the crosswalks, and installing street lighting, and landscaping.
County engineer Tricia Smith said at a recent presentation that the street shoulders near Bardy Farms on Washington Valley Road needed widening.
The road is presently 46 feet wide there. The proposed improvement would mean that that stretch of Washington Valley Road would end up with shoulders 5-feet in length; and two traffic lanes, 11-feet in length.
Engineering plans call for a 14-foot wide median on Mountain Boulevard from Old Stirling Road to North Road, although it’s uncertain what kind.
DiNardo said controlling, or slowing traffic on the busy thoroughfare, is vital.
“People are just flying through the intersections,” he said.
Recent traffic counts indicate that on a typical day, 19,000 vehicles travel westbound on Mountain Boulevard and 14,000 westbound.
Township officials are eager to see the finished product of the $2 million project, made possible by Transportation Improvement District funds.
“It’ll really beautify our town,” Mayor Carolann Garafola said.
She said she was glad to see a greater amount of support for the project than when she initially proposed such an idea some 10 years ago.
Police Chief Russell Leffert said once the project breaks ground, it could take anywhere between six months to one year to complete.