If you use Irvington Avenue in Maplewood, the North Jersey Sustainable Communities Consortium (Together North Jersey) would like to here from you. The organization has announced that a public workshop will take place on Tuesday, May 6 from 5pm to 8pm regarding a study to improve the Irvington Avenue area.
Called the "Maplewood Irvington Avenue Corridor Study", the objectives include "evolving the Core Study Area (which is on Irvington Avenue between Putnam Street and Franklin Terrace) into a more cohesive neighborhood retail district with stronger connections to the broader Maplewood community". In addition, the study aims to "identify transportation, pedestrian and bike access improvements", "identify streetscape improvements that will create a healthy, enjoyable and safe environment and ensure social and economic beneļ¬ts", and "identify untapped resources, potential neighborhood stewards and viable incentives for residents that will promote revitalization in the Core Study Area"
Businesses in the core study area currently include 7-Eleven, Extra Supermarket, Town and Country Pharmacy, Mapleton Confectionery, Camptown Cleaners, Osibisa Tropical Supermarket, Studio 7 Hair Salon, Diamond Gym, Valley National Bank, Essex Division Telephone Federal Credit Union, and Sudz King Laundromat. The area is served by NJ Transit Bus 107, which connects the South Orange Train Station with Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York, and Bus 37, which connects Ivy Hill in Newark with Newark Liberty International Airport.
Other parts of the study area include the area around the Ivy Hill Plaza near the South Orange/Maplewood/Newark border and the Irvington Avenue Business District in South Orange.
The public workshop will be in open house format, and will take place at the Maplewood Community Center in Dehart Park, at 120 Burnett Avenue in Maplewood. Refreshments will be served. Attendees can discuss what improvements they would like to be made to Irvington Avenue, and what businesses they currently frequent, with representatives from the project team.
"We hope to hear from area residents how they use Irvington Avenue", Annisia Cialone of the Perkins Eastman planning firm, which is part of the project team. Other organizations on the project team include New Jersey Transit, Fitzgerald & Halliday, Larisa Ortiz Associates, and the Nishuane Group.
The project began in February and completion of it is expected during the Summer.
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