It’s not often you get to have some input in the direction of your town, besides public comments at council meetings and the like. Now, you have an opportunity to have some say from the comfort of your home computer or smartphone.

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Rahway’s downtown strategic plan public input survey, part of a strategic vision plan for downtown, launched earlier this month and closes Friday at midnight. You can access it directly here.

UPDATED, Sept. 1: The deadline for the city’s Downtown Strategic Plan Public Input Survey has been extended two weeks, through Friday, Sept. 10.

So, take a break from Facebook and spend a few minutes to fill out the survey. I’m sure it’ll be more constructive and have more impact than any Facebook comments or memes you’re sharing.

The last time there was any sort of downtown survey, was 2008. Think about what you  might have been up to back then: updating the DVD queue in your Netflix account, taking selfies in the mirror. To say nothing of the economy back then; 2008 reverberated throughout the housing market and certainly had a monstrous impact on development.

About 14 years ago, the Rahway Center Partnership (RCP) conducted a survey about downtown, culminating in a 22-page report. The RCP was the first downtown management corporation overseeing the Special Improvement District (SID) and the precursor to the Rahway Arts & Business Partnership (RABP).

That survey received 614 responses, 73% of whom lived in Rahway (about 448 responses).

What was missing downtown, according to that first report? Grocery, clothing, bakery, butcher, books and housewares. Some of those options have been filled, with a bakery and certain types of clothing outlets but the others mostly remain (though are there butcher shops anymore, outside of supermarkets?). At the time, there were 24 restaurants/eateries, including 5 delis, 2 pizzerias, 8 salons, 6 convenience/grocery stores, 5 antiques and home decor, and 3 barbers.

There was an oversupply of furniture and grocery stores in the ZIP code area, according to the report, but especially within a 3-mile radius:

While this was almost 15 years ago, there have likely been more – not less – grocery stores and supermarkets that have come to the area (A&P on Westfield Avenue in Clark is gone but Whole Foods opened near the Clark ShopRite; Aldi in Linden has since opened, as well as the Linden Walmart.)

At the same time, the report suggested that residential growth downtown would be able to support a 15,000-square-foot grocery store. But is that still the case some 13 years later? Also, to put that in perspective, the general rule of thumb for supermarket retail is 1 acre per 10,000 square feet of retail, including parking and loading docks. The Clark ShopRite, for example, is about 65,000  square feet – some four to five times as big as what was suggested could be sustainable.

Residential growth is there but something that wasn’t around previously were rideshare apps like Uber and Lyft, or the rise of grocery delivery services, to say nothing of other delivery services, like Grub Hub, Door Dash, etc., etc.

You don’t even have to back that far to find big changes. Things can change a lot in a few years. Think about 10 years ago. Most of us probably only just started using ride sharing apps, few of us were having grocery delivered, and apps like DoorDash, etc., weren’t even around. Those changes have impacted downtowns and retail and commercial markets. Now’s your chance to provide input about downtown going forward five, 10, 20 years or more.

Become a Patron!
Support local news – become a Patron of RahwayRising.com or make a one-time contribution via PayPal.