Approach to Redevelopment

spectator LEADER Ofl JL Serving Linden and Roselle Work begins on Lindc 5 'orphan' bridge man By Daa Bttrat The money's been tough to access in crash Suff Writer though. Koczur said he's oeen treated After ducovenn$ l» o feel of eon- lik* Oliver Twist asking for more By DM Bum cnu kid faJlen from u overhanging gruel He'• been repeatedly lold by the Staff Writer •bulment onto the "oadwey, RoaeUe Department of Traoeportation that A 19-year-old Linden man was police shut down the Walnut Slice* Roadie's bridges an not a priority killed Feb 8 when (he car in which he Bridge for repairs on Feb. 12 case. waa a paitimgrr collided with a sport- Borough Engineer Prank Kocair "I started 13 years ago going to the utility vehicle al the intersection of originally uid the repair work would county and the idle to try to get Union aad Clark streets. lake about two wp;fc» tad (tit state money for this. The county said they Sergio R. Garrigo waa pronounced Department of Transportation claimed don't gel involved with orphan dead by paramedics at 7:46 p.m. He it would only lake oat week. No work bridges unless Ihe money is in place. was one of four passengers in a station has been done lo ihe bridge at of The state also said they don't gel wagon who were riding without teal- presstime Tueiday, ao now .the pro- involved," Koczw said. This made belli on. ject's timetable it even longer. him wonder who does get involved. The accident occurred at 7:J0 p.m., Since the deterioration of the struc- After inspecting the bridge on Feb. when a sport-utility vehicle driven by ture wai discovered, there't been 11. Koczur contacted the county, who Amald Osselin. 20, of Linden struct much confusion among local officials, told him to contact the stale. The stale the station wagon at the intersection of Mate agencies and Conrail about told him bridge repair was Comail's Union and Clark streets. who'll jurisdiction the repair work responsibility Koczur had to tell the •MseVRa Police said Osselin wss traveling should fall under. The part of the stale that the bridges are under their Deep potholes and broken concrete can be found every few feet on the Walnut Street north on Clark Street and hit the dri- bridge which connects Roselle and Roselle Park. The bridge was recently closed so that bridge under repair is in Rotelle, but jurisdiction, as per the 1999 budget ver's side of the car head-on when it much-needed repairs can be mads. the structure itself is in RoteJIe Paid, allotment came into the middle of the intersec- according to Koczur. The property There are some insurance issues tion unexpectedly. end of town. Roselle Park resident "If you want to set craters, you nut Street traffic to overflew onto below the bridge has tram tracks that need to be dealt with before repair Osselin had the right of wsy, Alex Balabaa has spent the iaat few don't need a spacecraft; you just have Locust Street in the coming weeks, as underneath it and belongs to Conrail. work can begin, according to Robert according to police investigator yean urging officials to dedicate runds to drive over the Walnut Street motorists find an alternate route from Conrail built the bridge and main- Peatrs of Conrail. Even though the rail Andrew Haazko. Michelle Cunha, 20, for repairs to thoaa bridges. His lack of Bridge," Balaban said. East 1st Avenue to Westfield Avenue, tained it for years, but the rail lint is line is dead, workers will have to lake of Linden allegedly ran the Union success has led him to the conclusion Koczur ssid the damage done to the in Roselle Park. Linden Road and dead now and the neglected bridge ii a one-hour safety course on working Street stop sign in her station wagon. that they won't be fixed property until Walnut Street bridge is so extensive, Gordon Street are the only other thor- part of a group known as orphan near trains to meet an insurance cover- Garrigo was partially ejected from bridges. sfe criterion, according to Koczur. they literally crumble to the ground. that if it had s lot of heavy truck traf- oughfares between the boroughs. fic, it could possibly collapse. There is The DOT said the orange and while the car when it was struck by the The orphans have been hungry for Repair work will be done by I.E.W. "They don't seem to be a priority," currently s weight limit on vehicles cones blocking access to the bridge sport-utility vehicle. attention since the railroad companies contractors, who do work for the DOT f< ilaban said. "Until they literally fall that crow the bridges. will be up for about a week after con- When rscue workers arrived on the abandoned them yean ago. They were throughout the slate. I.E.W. Project icy won't be fixed." struction begins. Koczur thinks the scene, they found the victim with included in the New Jersey Depart- Manager Dave Rodgers did not return Balabsn said the wear and tear The wooden sections of Roselle'i entire repair process will take about severe head trauma. ment of Transportation's budget for phone calls seeking comment on the from vehicles and the weather over the orphan bridges were repaired 10 years three weeka. His head was pinned down by the the first time in 1999 The budget construction. years/ combined with lack of mainte- ago, but the main structural parts of nance, has made the bridges unsafe the bridges were left alone. Staff Writer Toniann Anlonelli con- car when it flipped over, causing allotted SI9 million for repairs to the- The Walnut Street bridge has a twin severe head trauma. Cunha suffered and unsightly Roselle police expect normal Wal- in buted lo this report state's nearly 100 orphan bridges. structure on Gordon Street in the west minor bead injuries. Towns will take a 'smart' approach to redevelopment By Dan Bums that have the potential for redevelopment they will gel the grant, ac:i>rding lo City Plan- ment in front of the Polusa Center, according borough-owned, so acquiring land from multi- SUIT Writer One area being targeted m I ^ner Fred Micheeli Michach said the Planning | Councilman Joeeph O'Halloran a ple owners should not be a roadblock to the iin trying lobe vacant land between CranJbrd Avenue and led nhrther redevelopment : Rosclle Planning Board project. smart about redeveloping St. Georges Avenue. Chandler Avenue, according i wilt be commercial or residential college architectural and design Linden's redevelopment plan for the Linden Planning Board officials said this Councilman Derek Arrratead. (I Roselle's project a a little different than 'p>esented ideas for St. Georges avenue is more pinpointed than Roaelle's cor- week they have applied for a Smart Growth cil's liaison to the Planning Board. Once a Linden's because they plan to look al redevel- Avenoe'i strectscape design to the Borough ner-to-comer approach. grant from the state Department of Communi- study is conducted of that part and other sec- opment in conjunction with a streetscape proj- Council Iaat year, and tome of those ideas may Even though it's not a streetscape project, ty Affairs In doing so they joined Roselle, tion* along the avenue, areas can be declared ect to beautify the srei. Linden officials be taken into consideration, according to one of the city's goals is to beautify die area which applied for the grant in October, Each in need of redevelopment The city can then recently decided to use a portion of slreetscap- O'Halloran. that has often looked neglected in the past municipality requested $5(1,000 to conduct a acquire the land and solicit contractors for con- ing monies on the train station area instead of O'Halloran said he hopes to attract busi- Some of the accomplishments on the state's study of the portion of St. Georges Avenue struction projects. on St. Georges Avenue. nesses that will adopt an entire Mock of land, Smart Growth program's resume include turn- between Wood Avenue and the Elizabeth bor- Linden's redevelopment ideas sre still Roselle will try to add ttre/ttscspe improve- like Aldi Food Market Many of the lots on the ing Hoboken's downtown into a thriving com- der. The object of the study it to target areas vague because officials sre not even sure if ments to several blocks limiltr to the arrange- stretch between Aldi and Wood Avenue are mercial and social center. School 10 students Landfill in shoot hoops for heart city to be ByDaaBaras closed SUIT Writer Then was enough activity in the Highland Avenue School gymnasium on By Daa Bam Feb. 11 to give a teacher a heart attack, but it was actually a very heart-healthy SUIT Writer VMML Linden City Council unanimously The gym was bustling with activity because the school held its second annu- voted to appropriate $2 million for the al Hoop Snoot lo promote exercise and raise money for the American Heart closure of the Linden Landfill at its Aaaotta regular meeting Tuesday night Students came in during their gym period to shoot basketballs through the The money will be used to drain regulation hoop, or through a strand of colorful hula hoops that hung from the methane gas and close the landfill in rim. The fourth* and fifth-graders shot for the higher baskets and the younger an environmentally sound manner.

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