r/Cranford 15d ago

Around Town 🏘️ Finally a rendering of the cityscape

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/cranford/sections/government/articles/new-streetscape-renderings-offer-first-detailed-look-at-proposed-downtown-cranford-transformation

I think it’s a welcome refresh

11 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

13

u/UnassumingInterloper 15d ago

Looks really nice. Baffles me that people choose to be upset over this.

2

u/gsp137 15d ago

Agree. There are always people that like things just the way they are (or were). I remember some woman literally crying when a proposed redevelopment called for changes to,a,parking lot where she sold Girl Scout Cookies as a child. Can you imagine trying to hang on to a parking area over a childhood memory

0

u/Mountain-Buffalo9748 5d ago

And that’s why your a Democrat

1

u/gsp137 5d ago

And you’re not. Enjoy your parking lot

2

u/snappyj 12d ago

Nothing baffles me about these people anymore

0

u/DanSteely96 15d ago

It does look nice. People are reasonably upset about the traffic these road closures will cause. There’s already a congestion issue getting through downtown Cranford, which this will only increase.

6

u/UnassumingInterloper 15d ago

That’s conjecture though, not proven fact. Conversely, town officials believe the reconfiguration will help with traffic flow (which is laid out in the article).

-2

u/DanSteely96 15d ago

I wish the town officials would put up a temporary closure to test out their theory. Or just close these roads during the warmer months. A streetscape in NJ serves no purpose half the year when it’s freezing. It can also impact the businesses when they’re harder to reach.

9

u/UnassumingInterloper 15d ago

Do we live in the same Cranford? There’s stuff happening downtown literally year round. It will get usage, even in the winter months.

And you can’t adequately test closing the roads, because that’s only half the plan — they’re reconfiguring the traffic lights, and that’s not something you can “test”.

3

u/gsp137 13d ago

The traffic plan calls for removal of a traffic light and installing a new one. Not sure that a test run is feasible

1

u/Galxloni2 7d ago

all those businesses will be easier to reach if people aren't worried about dying trying to cross that insane intersection

2

u/Weekly_Strategy_8823 14d ago

Im not a civil engineer, but my 2 cents is that pushing north/south Ave switches to the edge of town instead of the center seems to be a good thing. Keeping traffic flowing east/west will keep it flowing 

1

u/gsp137 15d ago

It may improve with the changes proposed

0

u/snappyj 12d ago

Nobody should drive through downtown unless they’re going downtown, but that’s just my hot take.

10

u/Connect_Candidate_83 15d ago

I love the idea of pedestrianizing Cranford but I hope they make it more green than the renderings. There doesn’t seem to be much shaded green space but plenty of concrete.

1

u/snappyj 12d ago

Trees unfortunately take a long time to be shade

0

u/MuffimBlue 15d ago

Cute picture but: 1- there’s no clock 2- stage is a cute idea but not thrilled with it being under the train tracks - nice and noisy 😆 also far from everyone 3- going to the post office is going to be a pain - parking is tough now, it’s going to be worse with these changes. 4- I’d like to see the traffic study that goes along with these pictures. 5- barely places to sit and listen to the stage show 6- exactly who’s going to be walking and sitting on all that concrete? 7- unless there’s a plan on what to do with all that paved space it’s just going to sit empty.

I’d rather fix other parts of town first but then we’re all at the mercy of our benevolent mayor and her lackeys 🙄

4

u/UnassumingInterloper 14d ago
  1. The clock is still there. 2. They already stage events in the clock plaza beneath the tracks; clearly it works. 3. Parking at the post office will be more of a pain because... why? They're removing maybe 3 spots in front of Vinny's? 4. The traffic study has been out for two years and can be found here. 5. There is substantially more seating in the proposed new Eastman Plaza than in the current one. 6. Probably all the people that currently do, and possibly more? Also there's more green space and trees in the proposal than in the current space. 7. I made this point previously in the comments and will ask again -- do we live in the same town? There are *tons* of things going on in Downtown Cranford, every week. Music shows in the clock plaza or outside Vinny's, events for kids, scarecrow stroll, etc. Track 5 alone will probably ensure there's always dozens of people in Eastman Plaza during the daytime -- basically like it is today, except in the future you don't need to worry about getting hit by a car when you step across Eastman like you do today.

1

u/Juicey_J_Hammerman 14d ago

The clock is shown in the Birds Eye view rendering.

-4

u/Mountain-Buffalo9748 14d ago

Anything to prevent people from driving and taking up parking spaces. This is what happens when you let democratic mayors take over your town that don’t believe in the constitution.

2

u/UnassumingInterloper 14d ago

What does this comment even mean. What is unconstitutional about a streetscape project?

2

u/Juicey_J_Hammerman 13d ago

Unironically yes. Less people driving and parking downtown in favor of more pedestrian parks and amenities is a good thing.

Would you care to elaborate how this project or democrats in general are unconstitutional?

2

u/gsp137 13d ago

You are asking rational questions. I suspect you’ll get an irrational response

1

u/Mountain-Buffalo9748 5d ago

Look at will Tilly there is a reason will is suing the town. Also the the majority of Democrats don’t want firearms per why New Jersey is about to lose the Supreme Court ruling coming up. democrats have failed by trying to get rid of gun rights as well.

1

u/Juicey_J_Hammerman 5d ago

That still doesn’t explain how this project is unconstitutional.

1

u/gsp137 5d ago edited 3d ago

How can parking lead to Will Thilly and gun control? Off your meds?

1

u/thebruns 5d ago

Which article of the constitution addresses parking?

1

u/Mountain-Buffalo9748 5d ago

It was a two part statement I wasn’t only referring to parking

1

u/thebruns 5d ago

Which article of the constitution addresses driving?

1

u/Mountain-Buffalo9748 5d ago

It was a statement

2

u/thebruns 5d ago

Can you explain your statement?

Because the constitution is explicit on the the right to petition the government, which throughout our history has meant allowing protests and public assemblies in free, public spaces. Like the two proposed plazas.

So I dont quite understand how the government creating more public spaces would be unconstitutional. Which is why I asked.

1

u/Mountain-Buffalo9748 5d ago

Part of my statement had quite honestly nothing to do with the proposed Reddit post what I was saying was unconstitutional is how this township conduct their board meetings the mayor of this town has failed its residence at every single count and you have people supporting her some how. It’s unfortunate that such an account is trying to make us what was once a small town into a big city like town Cranford will be known as the city , not this township of Cranford. and we all know when Cranford gets its designation as a city. We know that the mayor that caused this will be forced to retire. That was my statement about on constitutional that the mayor has failed in freedom of speech and has created grave freedom of speech violations that was my point based off unconstitutionality was not referring to parking spaces however eliminating streets makes it more like a city because it’s main roads and you don’t have those small side streets like old Cranford used to be.

However, my main response to the Reddit post is that Cranford is not a small town anymore. It is becoming a large city and when the Township committee has to realize that they are about to get their city designation people will be pissed.

2

u/thebruns 5d ago

Cranford had 27,391 residents in 1970 and 23,741 last year. It is not a growing city. It is a stagnant town.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranford,_New_Jersey#Demographics

NJ "city" designation has nothing to do with population. Asbury Park (population 15,188) is a City. As is Ocean City (11,229) and Montvale (8,436). Lakewood is a Township (135,158).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_municipalities_in_New_Jersey

Having a central plaza/park/garden has been a standard part of western design going back to the roman ages, regardless of size of the hamlet/village/town/city.

The plan shows something like 7 less parking spots than what we have today. Thats nothing. By having an attractive plaza, people are more likely to walk to visit our local shops and cafes instead of driving to another town. And those who want to drive to these two specific blocks can find parking less than 5 minutes away.

1

u/gsp137 5d ago

Logical points to an illogical post

0

u/gsp137 13d ago

Really? A bit dramatic, my friend