Livingston gets $720,000 grant for downtown streetscape work

Creating a business district that can be enjoyed by pedestrians doesn't sound hard. But when the downtown area is divided by a road that serves 70,000 vehicles a day and connects two major state highways, things get a bit tricky.

Despite the challenges, Livingston Township has been at the task for five years. Now the town will have a federal grant of $720,000 to help with the final stages of the project.

The $3.5 million Livingston Pedestrian/Beautification Streetscape Project aims to get patrons walking the streets of town, instead of moving their vehicles from one strip mall parking lot to the next.

"We want to get more people riding bicycles and more people out walking," said Beth Lippman, executive director of the Livingston Community Partnership Management Corp., an entity of the Livingston Business Improvement District, which is sponsoring the project.

While the city's businesses serve as destinations for patrons, Mayor David Katz said, "we want the town to be the destination."

Among the planned renovations is a reworking of the area's parking lots. The multiple driveways for the strip malls on Route 10 disrupt sidewalks and require left turns that wreak havoc on traffic in the area.

By fostering cooperation among businesses, the project aims to connect parking lots and eliminate multiple driveways that empty onto the streets, said Katz.

Another project will be fixing the walkways.

At Livingston Avenue and Route 10, cracked and patched up asphalt sidewalks have clumps of grass sprouting through. Just alongside, part of the new development has begun: salmon-colored paving stones, tiered flower beds and benches for pedestrians.

The streetscape is happening at the same time as a multimillion-dollar project to create the mixed-use Livingston Town Center -- a private development of 70,000 square feet of retail and office space and 114 residential units.

Businesswoman Chari Amster-Roth said that while the spruced-up streets won't draw customers, the new Livingston Town Center will.

"And when they get here, they'll see what a nice town it is," said Amster-Roth, who owns a women's specialty store on Livingston Avenue and is a member of the Livingston Business Improvement District.

"It certainly looks much more attractive," Amster-Roth said, of a renovated area along the road outside her store. "I often see people sitting out there, and that's a change from before."

The renovations also call for new crosswalks made of brick or stamped concrete, which the BID hopes will have a calming effect on traffic around the Livingston Town Center area. Route 10, an east-west corridor that connects West Orange and other eastern towns with Morris County, runs by the new town center.

The federal grant money is included in a transportation bill signed into law by President Bush on Aug. 10.

"These smaller communities and business areas are fighting to survive with the competition of the huge malls," said U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.). "It's healthier and it's going to be much safer when the work is done."

Other area streetscape grants include $400,000 for Totowa, $400,000 for Haledon, $800,000 for Pompton Lakes, and $1.2 million for South Orange, a spokesman for Pascrell said.

Sara K. Clarke may be reached at sclarke@starledger.com or (973) 392-1896.