By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
The transformation of a portion of Brunswick Pike into a tree-lined, pedestrian-friendly boulevard is inching closer to reality, as the state Department of Transportation has included the project in its draft statewide Transportation Improvement Plan.
The one-mile-long stretch of Brunswick Pike included on the TIP runs between the Brunswick Circle and Whitehead Road Extension. The DOT has jurisdiction over Brunswick Pike, which is also known as Business Route 1.
The draft TIP, which is being considered for final adoption, identifies projects that are eligible for state and federal funding, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said this week. The project was removed from the TIP several years ago, but then restored to the list.
Meanwhile, the DOT has instructed its consultant to begin the final design work on the project specifications, which is necessary to obtain bids for the project, Mr. Krawczun said. Construction may begin in the fall 2013.
Earlier estimates pegged the design work and right-of-way acquisition phases at $800,000, and the construction at about $4.1 million. But the amount won’t be known until design work is completed, the project is put out to bid, and a contract is awarded by the DOT.
The plan calls for a landscaped median and on-street parking, Mr. Krawczun said. Improvements would be made to create pedestrian crosswalks. It has been suggested that the speed limit would be reduced to 30 miles per hour, from its present 40 miles per hour.
Brunswick Pike divides the Colonial Heights neighborhood on the east from the Slackwood neighborhood on the west. It is presently a four-lane road with a low, concrete median. The street is lined with a mix of houses and businesses, including the Burger King fast-food restaurant, the CVS pharmacy, the Slackwood Presbyterian Church and the Heritage Village age-restricted affordable housing development.
But the township’s 1995 Master Plan envisioned that this stretch of Brunswick Pike would be a tree-shaded, two-lane boulevard. The goal is to convert Brunswick Pike into a “Main Street,” which would unite the two neighborhoods and spur redevelopment, township officials said.
Brunswick Pike is key to the township’s Brunswick Pike South Redevelopment Project, which was created by Township Council in 1999 to spiff up the area between the Brunswick Circle and Whitehead Road Extension.
