CHURCH ST PAVING & TRAFFIC CALMING PROJECT
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September 17 Meeting
September 17 Meeting
Learn about Church Street Pedestrian & Bike Improvements
at the Inaugural South Orange Transportation & Pedestrian Safety Meeting
Wednesday, September 17 @ 7-9 PM
Hybrid meeting info: Join in person at the Baird Conference Rm 1 or online via the virtual meeting link
At the 9/17 meeting, the South Orange Engineer will present plans for traffic calming improvements to Church Street and hear community feedback.
This new quarterly Transportation & Pedestrian Safety meeting will give the public and town officials a forum to discuss traffic safety issues together regularly.
IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT: The meeting will be recorded and can be viewed afterward here. You can also send comments or questions to engineer@southorange.org and the Village Council.
Why?
Why?
ROAD REPAVING
South Orange has a NJ DOT grant of $482,820 to repave Church St and W 3rd St, including pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements.
CONNECTION
Church St is a necessary downtown connection for the Greenway (see more below). And commuters, students, families and the public at large would benefit from improved bicycle and pedestrian access to the train station, South Orange downtown, and nearby South Orange Middle School.
SAFETY
Church Street residents have requested pedestrian safety improvements. The Engineer prepared options (shown below) which include curb bump-outs, a mid-block crosswalk, and bike lanes. Research shows that bike lanes make streets safer for pedestrians, as it slows car traffic and reduces injuries for all users.
READ
Walk Bike Ride South Orange's Memo to the Village Council in support of a downtown Greenway route on Church St.
RELATED PROJECTS
South Orange Engineer will do a traffic study in fall 2025 to evaluate adding a traffic light at W 3rd & Ridgewood.
South Orange was awarded another DOT grant to repave S Ridgewood from W 3rd St to Lenox Ave, which will be designed in the coming months, after the Church St road project.
Church St: A Vital Downtown Greenway Connector
Church St: A Vital Downtown Greenway Connector
South Orange and Maplewood are working toward a River Greenway to ultimately connect from Baker St in Maplewood through South Orange to the north border with Orange – providing a safe route for walking, biking, and scootering, while also protecting waterways and natural habitat.
There is a gap downtown between the existing Greenway, which ends at Boz Way & South Orange Ave, and the next Greenway phase (to be constructed in 2025) which will begin at W 3rd St and Waterlands Park (see Greenway map below).
There is potential for a riverside downtown Greenway as part of redevelopment of the NJ Transit Lot, but this is currently in stalled negotiations and potential construction is many years away.
The Greenway also connects to the new Parker Ave bike lanes, which provide east-west access.
Once Waterlands and Church St Greenway routes are complete, the public would enjoy 1.5 miles of continuous Greenway from Jefferson & Dunnell in Maplewood to the north end of Meadowland Park in South Orange.
Church St Designs
Church St Designs
The Village Engineer prepared two design options that will be presented in more detail on September 17: a Formal Bike Lane concept and a Shared Route concept.
Option 1: Bike Lane Concept
Option 1: Bike Lane Concept
Link to Formal Bike Lanes Design on South Orange Website:
On 3rd St: has shared bicycle markings but no curb bumpouts at 3rd & Church.
On Church St: one-way north-bound driving lane, one parking lane, and a two-way bicycle lane; a midblock crosswalk for pedestrians coming out of the NJT lot; and a two-way driving lane between the NJT driveway and SO Ave.
Option 2: Shared Route Concept
Option 2: Shared Route Concept
Link to Shared Route design on South Orange Website.
Has shared bicycle markings on both 3rd and Church, as well as pedestrian curb bump-outs at 3rd & Church.
Church St Traffic Study
Church St Traffic Study
Link to Church St traffic study on South Orange Police Department website
Church St Development
Church St Development
Separate from the roadwork project, a new development was just approved to build 23 townhouses at the south end of Church St. In the current road designs, the bicycle markings stop at W 3rd St and do not continue south toward the development.
Link to Site Plan on South Orange Planning Board website
Village Green Article: 23 Unit Townhouse Development Planning Underway in South Orange
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