By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
With a ceremonial toss of dirt, Township Council broke ground Wednesday morning on the long-awaited improvements to the Eldridge Park business district — starting with a landscaped parking lot next to the Lawrence Road Fire Company.
The project actually began last month, when the township Department of Public Works applied a new layer of asphalt to the parking lot at the corner of Lawrence Road and Marlboro Road.
But this week, work started on the landscaping improvements along the perimeter of the parking lot. Think Pavers Hardscaping LLC, which was awarded a $194,000 contract, is going to install benches, a brick walk and decorative fencing.
Mayor Pam Mount described the project as “more than making a pocket park.”
“There are economic implications,” Mayor Mount said Wednesday morning. “These businesses, although they are small family businesses, have been here for many years. They hold the town together. This (project) is more than just planting a tree. It’s building a community.”
The improvements are among the recommendations contained in the 2007 Lawrence Road Planning Study, prepared by the planning consultant firm of Clarke Caton Hintz. The money for the $30,000 study came from a Smart Futures state grant.
The planning study recommended that the Lawrence Road Fire Company parking lot could be used by employees and visitors to the businesses in the Eldridge Park business district. The business district extends from the Willis Greenhouse business to the Lawrence Road Presbyterian Church.
Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said he was not certain about the number of parking spaces in the newly paved lot, but there would be spaces designated for the volunteer firefighters. The rest would be available to the public.
The Lawrence Road Fire Company project also calls for closing the second driveway entrance off Marlboro Road, located at the rear of the property. The driveway entrance on Marlboro Road closest to Lawrence Road will be retained.
The next phase is the installation of a lighted crosswalk at Lawrence Road and Lawrence Avenue. A $113,939 contract for that work has been awarded to Orchard Holdings LLC.
Township officials have been seeking a lighted crosswalk at that intersection for several years, in response to accidents that have occurred on that stretch of Lawrence Road. The township was awarded a $50,000 state grant toward the project.
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