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Colonia residents call for downtown revitalization
Traffic, parking cited as concerns during town forum
BY KATHY CHANG Staff Writer
WOODBRIDGE - When Marie Palumbo moved into the Colonia section of the township 45 years ago, all she wanted was a beautiful downtown.
"Now it's 45 years later and the downtown looks pathetic," she said. "I have asked every mayor for the past 45 years to beautify the downtown area, but I still haven't seen improvement."
Over 200 Colonia residents applauded Palumbo's comment and concurred with her sentiment, with words like "disgraceful" and "horrendous" to describe the downtown of Colonia at the first of several community visioning meetings on the downtown, held in the cafeteria of the Colonia Middle School on Dec. 10.
Mayor John E. McCormac along with Susan S. Gruel, principal in the New Brunswick planning firm Heyer, Gruel & Associates, moderated the meeting.
Township officials including council President Brenda Velasco, Councilwoman Pat Osborne, Ward 5 Councilman Robert Luban, Councilman Gregg Ficarra, Marta Lefsky, director of planning and development, and Caroline Ehrlich, former councilwoman and current director of the redevelopment agency, were on hand to listen to residents' concerns as well as voice their own.
The meetings are part of a $60,000 initiative to explore the township's business districts and the surrounding residential areas. Suggestions made at the various meetings would be added to the township's master plan.
Township officials have already held visioning meetings for the Iselin, Fords and Avenel sections of the township over the past year and held the first of many overall master plan meetings on Dec. 6.
Palumbo added that she has taken on beautifying the Colonia downtown as her pet project.
"I have pride in the area," she said.
Colonia is the second largest of the 10 sections of Woodbridge, with 17,811 residents in 3.9 square miles, according to the U.S. Census 2000.
Residents had a myriad of complaints about their downtown on Inman Avenue, which included traffic congestion, speeding, vacant stores, the lack of cleanliness of the businesses, inadequate sidewalks, the layout of Inman Avenue Park, the difficulty of making left-hand turns out of the Foodtown supermarket (510 Inman Ave.) and St. John Vianney School (420 Inman Ave.), uncoordinated traffic lights, and the lack of places for their children and teenagers to go to.
McCormac, who lives in Colonia, said the Colonia commercial district has three anchors - Ace Hardware, Colonia Natural Pharmacy and Country Cow Creamery - that make the downtown an asset to the Colonia residents.
Some residents agreed with the mayor and added that trees and ample parking were assets as well to the Colonia downtown.
However, others disagreed with the assertion that there is ample parking in the area, citing that parking behind businesses is not easily accessible.
"Where's plenty of parking?" Frederick Fry, who has lived in the township since 1960, asked the mayor. "It is blocked by barriers … if we eliminate the barriers between businesses, it could open up [traffic on Inman Avenue and provide extra parking lots]."
McCormac said he liked the idea of eliminating barriers and said the administration would look into it.
Residents said speed has to be controlled on Inman Avenue and suggested flashing lights and an additional traffic light should be implemented, crossing guards need to be trained to know how to keep the traffic on Inman Avenue flowing, and also pedestrianand bicycle-friendly pathways should be implemented.
Residents also suggested speed bumps to quell speeding; however, McCormac said he would not put speed bumps on residential streets.
"First off, they are expensive - $10,000 each - and second, after one speed bump is implemented, then soon every residential street would have a speed bump in the township," he said.
However, McCormac said he has no problem with speed bumps in parking lots, and he would consider implementing them there.
Many residents said they have all the basic needs they need in their downtown; however, they would like an upgrading and uniformity to the storefronts.
The existing Walgreens Pharmacy application, which the mayor said should be finished by next year, weighed heavily on the minds of certain residents concerned about storefront uniformity.
The Zoning Board approved Walgreen Eastern Co. Inc.'s application on March 15 to remove the existing Walgreens building, 539 Inman Ave., which is 50-plus years old, on the west side of the lot and replace it with a new 13,390-square-foot Walgreens building and an attached 5,044-square-foot tenant building, which includes a Dunkin' Donuts.
The Walgreens will have a drive-up window on the west frontage, which will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A new parking and circulation plan is provided, with new pavement to be installed on the western portion of the site. Lighting and landscaping improvements are proposed. The existing retail building on the east portion of the lot will remain.
McCormac said the township approached Walgreens about the possibility of making the outside facade of the business into a more historic look to conform to the area; however, since Walgreens is a chain, they refused the request.
"We can look into forming a facade tax abatement improvement plan," said the mayor. "We can't get the real level of detail we may want, but it could lead to a more uniformed downtown."
Residents suggested that township officials should fine businesses - even putting notices on their front door if fined - for not maintaining their properties.
The mayor agreed.
"We have fined businesses in Colonia, maybe not as much as we should," he said.
Ward 5 Councilman Robert Luban said he would approach the businesses again on the idea of forming the Colonia downtown into a special improvement district [SID], which has been implemented in Woodbridge proper, Iselin, and Fords.
A SID is created to make improvements, typically to infrastructure, in a given area.
"Twelve years ago, I tried to form a SID; however, the businesses were not interested at the time, and I approached them a few years ago, [but received the same answer]," he said. "I will look into it again because that's the only way for improvements, and I hope they realize that it's needed."
Also of concern was the unknown possibilities for the Rahway Bus Co. site.
On Sept. 6, the Zoning Board denied Mase Land Co.'s application to build 90 agerestricted units on the current Rahway Bus Co. site, 445 Inman Ave., which also has two residential dwellings on the site.
More than 500 Colonia residents signed a petition opposing the application.
"The bus company property is a tremendous asset to us," said Ezio Tamburello, who has lived in the township for 13 years. "It's a great area for green open space."
Tamburello added that the township should look into widening Inman Avenue from Delaware Avenue to Jordan Road to quell traffic, and the possibility of implementing a police substation.
However, some residents who live on Inman Avenue were against widening the street, because they worried that it would become like Route 1.
The mayor said he would look into the suggestions made by Tamburello, but assured him that every day there are police assigned to the Colonia section of the township.
"They are always within minutes if something shall happen," said McCormac.
Kellie Cuzzola, who has lived in Colonia for 14 years and has three teenagers, said the downtown needs more family places.
"We don't have a lighted field … our kids have nothing, and it sends them a message that the downtown doesn't want the kids," she said. "There needs to be places like coffee shops for them as well as older people to go to that are safe and we can keep an eye on them. These kids are the heart and soul of our community … it's not safe at the Woodbridge Center mall."
Dave Chesney, who has lived in Colonia all his life, said it all for the residents in Colonia at the end of the meeting.
"For all the problems that Colonia may have, we have to remember that we have a great school system [with seven schools in the area] and a tremendous youth sports program," he said. "We have to stop the negative, negative, negative, because this is a great township to live in, not just for the retired and young, but for the entire community."
Township officials said they plan to hold a second meeting with all the business owners on Inman Avenue and a combined third meeting with residents and business owners.
Residents who have suggestions can email Susan Gruel and Fred Heyer at mail@hgapa.com.
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