Caldwell Needs Complete Streets!

Decades of Auto Centric Planning is Slowly Killing Downtown Caldwell-It's time to choose!

Click Poster to Enlarge

The presentation below is in response to Essex County's planned expansion of Bloomfield Avenue in Caldwell. The plan calls for a new signal at the Westville Avenue and Roseland Avenue intersection. We support this idea. However, Project Main Street believes that some of the changes being made are extremely detrimental to the economic and social fabric of downtown Caldwell. The proposed expansion of Bloomfield Avenue between Personette Street and Forest Avenue to five lanes and the elimination of 16 parking spaces, continues the outdated auto centric policies of the past.


We have an alternative vision of Caldwell that we shared with Mayor, Council, and Essex County Department of Public Works officials. The atmosphere was extremely positive and we were encouraged by the thoughtful questions asked by the Mayor and Council. The future of Caldwell is our hands. Do we add a lane of speeding traffic and lose 16 parking spaces in the process, or do we envision downtown Caldwell as a vibrant village, the heart of our community, a place we call home?


On Tuesday, March 23rd we made the following presentation on behalf of the citizens of Caldwell.

Please click on this link to view presentation

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AVIjNq1jjeI6ZGZicmh6MmNfMzJkbjY4M21meg&hl=en




For more information please read the "Complete Streets" handout by clicking on the link below.

https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1IjNq1jjeI6YzlkZmRhNzgtZWU5Zi00ZDhjLWEwODAtM2ZiMTVhNDZlNTMy&hl=en

Creating a Pedestrian Friendly Downtown Caldwell

We live in a auto centric society and this paradigm is destroying the social and economic fabric of small towns across America. We face this same threat in Caldwell today. Our vision of Caldwell as a pedestrain friendly center of community where people stroll downtown to shop, eat, and socialize is under attack by an archaic mindset that favors moving traffic through town as efficienty as possible at the expense of the vision of Caldwell as a village. Bloomfield Avenue is not Route 46. Caldwell residents are not concerned about the convience of poeple who are traveling through our downtown in order to get to work ten minutes quicker. We need a paradigm shift. Morristown for example has many mid block crosswalks that are clearly marked and the result is that a mother with two small children in tow, can cross the street in many places without the fear of being mowed down.
The images above were taken on South Street in Morristown. Notice, in the top image, how three cars stopped to let the pedestrian cross. I stopped to ask a policeman why and how Morristown set up all these mid-block cross walks. He told me,"it's important to the town to make Morristown pedestrian friendly, otherwise no one would come downtown", he continued, "and we give out tickets to drivers who violate a pedestrians right of way and it's a three point ticket at that, eventually people catch on". I was also informed that "there is a state grant available to pay police overtime to enforce compliance in the area of pedestrian safety." So, the next time you are trying to cross Bloomfield Avenue, imagine what our wonderful town could become with just a few small changes. Do we want to live in a village or on a highway? It's not about cars, it's about people.

Ridgewood is another successful downtown that has made many changes in order to maintain the small town character that is so important to residents. At Ridgewood High School the students produced a video entitled " Keep Kids Alive, Drive 25"

Just a modest decrease in motor vehicle speed can mean

a dramatic increase in survival rates in pedestrian-vehicle

crashes. For pedestrians, even drivers traveling beneath

the legal speed limit can present a lethal threat. If a

pedestrian is hit by a vehicle that is traveling 20 mph, the

pedestrian survival rate is 95 percent. This drops to 60

percent at 30 mph, and just 20 percent at 40 mph.

Research shows that wide, straight roads and long sight

distance encourage higher travel speeds and therefore

lead to increased fatalities and injuries. Yet traffic

engineering models tend to favor fast-moving roadways

over slower ones

Designing for Safe Streets

Narrower streets, street tress and mature tree canopy, on-street parking, buildings located close to

the sidewalk, raised crosswalks, and reducing the number and width of lanes can reduce traffic

speeds, and thus reduce crash rates and traffic fatalities. To improve the pedestrian environment,

many cities have embraced these design principles-americawalks.org

http://www.americawalks.org/

Conversations on The Green-Anna Young's Report, Finding The Vision

Please read Landscape Architect Anna Young's report on how to approach the creation of a vision for our Green and Library expansion. For further reading please refer to other "Conversations on The Green" posts. Your comments are welcome and your feedback is essential.

Click below to read Anna's report

Finding the Vision-by Anna Young, LLC, CLA, Senior Landscape Architect at Dewberry

Conversations on The Green- The Library- Imagine the Possibilities!

"Imagine, for instance, a park bordered on one side by a commercial street and on another by a public library. These urban elements work together to form a single place, yet in a typical downtown that area would likely be managed by a number of public entities. Instead of a unified approach to the place, several different city agencies employ a piecemeal approach, each operating within the boundaries of its professional discipline.

But if we look upon these elements as interrelated components of a single place, we create more opportunities for local people and different public entities to jointly create a vision of what's best for the downtown. How can the street, park, library, and businesses support and strengthen each other? What do business owners, library employees, and residents envision for the area? By actively observing and listening to the people who live or work or play in the area, the answers to what the place needs will become apparent."- Project for Public Spaces

"Imagine that same square situated next to a public library: the doors open right unto the square; people sit outside and read on the steps; maybe the children's reading room has a outdoor space right on the square"- Project for Public Spaces

"Parks and libraries are natural partners. Both represent "the commons." They are our public space and we hold them together, and they're our collective responsibility. They're part of the underlying urban infrastructure- as important as the bridges and the roads and the housing. They promote civic participation; they foster local identity, and they both offer recreational, educational and social engagement opportunities."- Diantha D. Schull, Executive Director, Libraries for the Future

Conversations on The Green: The Caldwell Green has not fulfilled its potential.

This is the first of many posts that will explore the intriguing past and promising future of our Town Green. A few weeks ago, Anna Young, the chief landscape architect of The Morristown Green Renovation, was kind enough to give an informational presentation to The Green Committee, The Caldwell Library, Mayor Gartland, and council members Ann Dassing and Joe Norton.


The following is from Anna Young's presentation: (the images on the left are the Caldwell Green and the images on the right are the Morristown Green)

The Caldwell Green has not fulfilled its potential. Today it is just the shoulder of a busy county road and the border of a parking garage. Improvements can make it a community space that is integrated with the library, proudly embraces its history, and provides a place of respite from our busy lives.

Improvements to the Green should replace this view into the belly of the garage with human scale features. We need to capitalize on the adjacent Community Center and parking as an asset to the Green rather than a liability. Thoughtful placement of seating and reconfigured park space can create an irresistible place to sit.

Improvements to the Green should be designed to bring back Caldwell’s rich history and set the stage for community celebrations.

Carefully placed walkways create an experience while linking destinations.

Join the Conversation!

Give us your thoughts on how to make downtown Caldwell a better place.

Our Downtown - For Today and for Tomorrow

Memorial Day Parade, Caldwell NJ

Welcome friends and neighbors! Something exciting is happening in Caldwell that will benefit all of us in town and in our surrounding communities!

Project Main Street is a nonprofit, non-governmental, community volunteer organization. We’ll be working to preserve our heritage while building the future of our downtown through historic preservation, beautification, green space, and pedestrian friendly projects. We’ll be hosting community events and forming partnerships that will establish a true “center of community” – a destination for our neighbors and new businesses alike.

We’d love you, your family members and friends to join us and have a true voice – by sharing your vision, ideas and opinions on this new blog, by keeping up to date on events and initiatives by becoming a fan on Facebook, or by volunteering your time or talent to one of our committees. Together we will build the future of our downtown by choice, not by chance.

Help us make a difference by joining the conversation or volunteering. Here’s how:

1) Become a fan of Project Main Street on Facebook to keep up to date and add your thoughts. Just click on the Facebook icon at the bottom of the blog to connect.

2) Become a public follower of this blog to share your ideas and opinions:

- On the bottom right of the page, click the “follow” button

- A box will open, prompting you to log in using your account (or create one free)

- Promote the site, inviting your contacts to become followers. Once you’ve become a follower, another box will open prompting you to add email addresses to invite others to join

3) Comment on blog posts and encourage others to do so. Interaction is important. Consider this YOUR blog.

- At the end of a post, click the word “comment”

- Type your comment. Click “preview” to proofread. Click “post comment” to submit

- Bookmark the site. Visit often. Read the posts and people’s comments. Engage in an on-line dialogue on the topic and comments.

4) Become a volunteer for a project or a committee. Email projectmainst@gmail.com.

5) Please forward this  to others in The Caldwells and our neighboring towns!

What changes would you like to see in downtown Caldwell over the next few years? Please comment below!

Thank you for your support!