Westfield May Close Certain Blocks For Pedestrians, Dining

WESTFIELD, NJ — The Downtown Westfield Corporation is asking the local community for input regarding the idea of designating certain downtown streets strictly for pedestrian use, and for outdoor dining.

Gov. Phil Murphy said on Monday that indoor retail and outdoor dining can reopen on June 15.

Other cities in the state have blocked off certain streets to cars to allow people to enjoy them while social distancing, and to permit local businesses to offer "streateries" where people can dine outdoors. For instance, Cranford announced such a plan last week.

Mayor Shelley Brindle said in her update on Monday evening, "As part of the Reopening Task Force’s work, the DWC has launched a survey to explore the community’s interest in opening certain designated downtown streets strictly for pedestrian use. For those interested in providing input, please respond by tomorrow at 5 p.m. This is one of many initiatives the Task Force is undertaking to recommend the best way forward for our downtown, in accordance with the guidelines we expect to receive from the state."

She noted, "The Task Force will be conducting a walk-through downtown tomorrow with representatives from the police, Fire and Public Works departments to assess what accommodations could be made to safely allow our business owners to expand their seating and merchandising capacities. We expect to have recommendations to share next week with the Town Council before the June 15 re-opening date."

The survey can be found here.

Brindle reported on Monday night that Westfield reported two new coronavirus cases over the weekend, bringing the total to 276.

Last Wednesday, she reported four additional fatalities, bringing the town total to 41. Three of the fatalities were associated with a long-term care facility (two males, ages 73 and 62, and a female, age 90), Brindle said. She said they had died in April and were only recently reported to the town as Westfield residents. And there was a recent death of an 87-year-old woman.

In New Jersey, the number of cases has risen to 160,918, and 11,721 people have died. Gov. Murphy said Monday that the totals included 509 new coronavirus cases and 27 more deaths in the last 24 hours.

Murphy has said that reopenings will occur carefully, in stages, to try to avoid a new spike in coronavirus cases. At the height of the spread of the virus, the state reported 460 new deaths from the virus in 24 hours at the end of April, or a death every three minutes.

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