BERKELEY – Officials are discussing extending Western Boulevard which would allow another route to the Garden State Parkway through the proposed Beachwood Mall redevelopment.
The Beachwood Mall was the shopping center on Route 9 just south of Beachwood. It’s in Berkeley, but the owner named it Beachwood because he was mad at Berkeley officials at the time.
The property has been under contract for a number of years to a redeveloper who would clean it out and construct retail and residential buildings. This was designated as a “town center” and an “area in need of redevelopment” a long time ago in order to give municipal officials more control over what is being built there.
One part of this project has been the extension of Western Boulevard. Despite the name, it doesn’t go east to west. It’s just on the western side of the Pinewald section of town. Drivers would drive by the new retail and apartments of the former Beachwood Mall, and head south on Western Boulevard, past Crystal Lake Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center, make a right onto Veterans Boulevard, and take that to the Parkway.
“Western Boulevard is an asset to our town center. It’s very important to me,” Mayor John Bacchione said at a recent Township Council meeting.
He said that he met with county officials and Township Planner James Oris to discuss the project further.
The county is going to ask the mayors of surrounding towns about their opinions on the extension, he said. After that the county will investigate what needs to be done and then make a plan.
“I want to thank the county for that meeting,” he said.
In other traffic news, resident Bill Lin reported on a hazardous situation with some roads during the council meeting. Many of the roads near the lagoons and marshes get flooded, especially recently, and residents have been asking officials for help. Lin noted that when the water ponds on the road in the winter, this becomes a sheet of ice. Furthermore, people will drive around the ice, onto the shoulder or in another dangerous way.
Township Engineer Alan Dittenhofer said he’ll reach out to the county about this because the roads Lin mentioned (such as Bayview Avenue) are county roads.
