East Cherry Street will see some design changes, namely the elimination of bumpouts, along with other improvements to curbs and sidewalks.
City Council approved a resolution (AR-103-20) during its April regular meeting awarding a $69,750 contract to Red Bank-based Maser Consulting for East Cherry Street streetscape improvements.
The project primarily will be about the streetscape, not just the roadway, enhancing it aesthetically, Director of Community Development Jacqueline Foushee said. Bumpouts will be removed to accommodate more parking or usable space,
Some preliminary work has been done but design work is expected to be completed in about two months, Foushee said. The project would go out to bid later this summer with the hope of work starting before the end of the year, she added. “That would be the goal.”
Improvements will include curbs and sidewalks, with some decorative street lights possibly relocated and new amenities, such as trash cans. Some trees may be removed because of the alignment with a new sidewalk configuration.
It’s a project that would ultimately be funded and reimbursed from the Special Improvement District (SID) through the Rahway Arts and Business Partnership (RABP) but the city will undertake and oversee the contract, City Administrator Robert Landolfi said.
“Coming out of this emergency [coronavirus], it will make a lot of sense to have that done over there, to encourage and help business along,” Landolfi said, with better traffic flow and better parking.
Over the years, East Cherry Street often has been discussed as a potential pedestrian-only thoroughfare. There have been some concept plans over the years that proposed a promenade linking East Cherry and Lewis streets to make the parking deck more accessible. Those plans typically have included razing the building that currently houses The Pit, which was acquired through the Parking Authority severals years ago.
All that would be considered in another conversation after the design, Landolfi said, whether to keep East Cherry Street open with an ability to close it or a close a part of it but not on a permanent basis.
