Fischer Blvd. ShopRite to Undergo an Expansion

It was a hot day for workers in the Bay Plaza parking lot on Fischer Boulevard today, as new lights for the lot were being installed. The handful of lights, which feature a more circular design and better lighting, are part of a series of improvements and additions to the plaza.

Last month, the Toms River Planning Board approved the final site plan for a 3,129 square foot expansion to the Fischer Boulevard ShopRite last month. The expansion, which will fill in the loading area of north side of the building, is slated to add more storage space and slightly more room for shopping.

While the expansion will eliminate some parking spaces in that area, previous additions to the parking lot from 2006 will offset that loss in space. The amount of parking spaces required for a shopping plaza that size calls for 350. Upon completion of the projects, however, there will be 546 spaces.

"This site has more than adequate parking," said Project Engineer John Ernst. "We came to the planning board several years ago to get an approval for an employee parking lot that goes out onto Bay Avenue near the Bay Avenue entrance and some additional parking out on Fischer Boulevard."

Members of the planning board expressed their concern to any potential change to the parking situation in the plaza and the overall traffic flow coming in from Fischer Blvd. and Bay Ave. Ernst however addressed those concerns by pointing out that the plans have no effect on the layout of the main parking lot or entrances into the plaza.

"Circulation stays the same," said Ernst. "We're not going any further back than the existing building line, so the back line stays the same."