Metuchen Will Not Build Pedestrian Plaza On New Street

METUCHEN, NJ — Metuchen has decided to not go ahead with its plans to build a pedestrian plaza on New Street, Mayor Jonathan Busch said Wednesday.

The Borough was considering plans to build a pedestrian plaza near the intersection of Main and New Street. The proposal called for eliminating vehicular on a section of New Street. The project was part of the $9.3 million Main Street Safety Improvement Grant by the New Jersey Transportation Planning Authority (NJTPA).

“After a thorough and thoughtful review of all public comments, discussions with council members and input from emergency service professionals, we have determined that neither of the alternatives presented by the NJTPA is right for our community at this time,” Busch said in a statement.

“Rather, we have asked the NJTPA’s professionals to implement a different solution for the intersection that does not close New Street or result in significant parking loss on Main Street but incorporates some of the most common safety suggestions made throughout this process,” Busch said.

Since last year, half of New Street has been closed to traffic to allow restaurants to set up outdoor dining. Even though indoor dining has resumed, partial street closure continues.

While many residents provided input on the plan during public meetings, Busch said much of social media discussion on the plan “devolved into cynical assumptions about the motives of our own neighbors.”

“Constructive disagreement and respectful dissent result in more rigorous decision-making that often requires us, the leaders, to challenge the way we think about our borough. However, when dissent turns to acrimony and we resort to claims that every opposite position comes from a place of dishonesty, we chip away at the very fabric of our close knit community,” Busch said.

“Metuchen is a special place and it is so much more than one street or one intersection.”

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