Engineers present Bloomfield Avenue streetscape concepts; council asked for committee review

Jim Lau of Strands Engineering presented the township’s conceptual designs for the Bloomfield Avenue streetscape, saying the team had vetted options with local committees and stakeholders and that the work moves from Caldwell down to Montclair. “We’ve been working with your core, professional team,” Lau told the council as he showed site analysis, tree and lighting inventories and two paving options intended to match Verona’s character.

The concepts include two paving choices — a linear stone-composite paver or traditional clay brick with granite banding — plus expanded tree buffers, redesigned lighting, consolidated parking kiosks and new benches, trash receptacles, bike racks and custom tree grates. Lau said the design vocabulary aims to “increase the tree canopy” and create a consistent rhythm along Bloomfield Avenue while preserving granite curbing where present.

Council members pressed the team on implementation details. Councilman Roman asked whether work to connect utilities and other underground interconnection work should be completed before awarding paving contracts; the township manager said the interconnection should be finished first and recommended delaying paving awards until underground work is completed. “We should not authorize an award of contract on the paving until the feasibility study and then any interconnection is actually completed,” the township manager told the council.

Members also raised visual-clutter concerns about remaining overhead utilities near Montclair and the park; Lau said including conduit and pull points as part of streetscape utilities could make later aerial-to-underground conversions easier but that the cost likely would not fit the current streetscape budget unless county or utility partners helped.

Budget and phasing were central to the discussion. Lau presented an overall conceptual budget of about $3,000,000 and said phase 1 would account for approximately the first $1.5 million; he also said coordinated county intersection work could save “between probably 300 to 400,000,” depending on the final scope and documentation.

Several council members asked that the Neighborhood Traffic & Safety and Shade Tree committees be given time to review the more finalized concepts before the engineering team proceeds into final design. Councilwoman McGrath requested at least two weeks for committee review and suggested the final art and public-installation proposals return to the council for separate approval.

Next steps: the township manager said staff would circulate the presentation and speaking points to interested groups, then move Strands into final design and bidding once the council confirms any requested changes. If approved, officials expect to put phase 1 out to bid this summer with construction staged through the following spring and summer.