Will the 'Golden Age' of Metuchen continue? Here's what's coming in 2023

METUCHEN - The borough has a lot planned for the new year, from the start of construction on a new sewer pump station on Jersey Avenue that will serve more than half of the town to making upgrades to major intersections.

During his address at the Borough Council's Jan. 1 reorganization meeting, Mayor Jonathan Busch said Metuchen is enjoying a "Golden Age of sorts" with recognition as a semi-finalist in the Great American Main Street Award, the nomination as a “2024 Destination of the Year” award by Jersey’s Best Magazine and the designation of the 2023 American Girl Doll of the Year, Kavi Sharma, as a Metuchenite.

"All this recognition is truly extraordinary and is a validation of the hard work and commitment of our volunteers, our residents, our staff, and our elected officials who have made Metuchen even more attractive and more livablethan ever before," Busch said.

But there is more work to be done.

Busch said construction is expected to begin this year on a new sewer pump station on Jersey Avenue after a contractor was hired through a shared service agreement with neighboring Edison. He said the pump station will result in a major upgrade to the borough wastewater system and significantly diminish the risk of sewage backup in homes and businesses.

Other infrastructure projects include replacing the Kahn’s Crossing bridge servicing the Graham Avenue neighborhood, replacing the elevator at the Metuchen Library and upgrading the borough website.

To address one of the borough's largest infrastructure needs, Busch said the town is close to finalizing plans for the new "Emergency Services Center,” a firehouse/EMS facility on the former site of the EMS building off Route 27.

He said demolition of the structures on the property has begun and architects are completing initial planning for the facility which is expected to begin construction this year.

As part of the ongoing construction of the new Manasquan Bank on the corner of Main and New streets, there are also plans for a downtown pocket park with a beer garden in the space where the bank's drive-thru is located, he said.

Busch said the pocket park will be constructed in two phases - first as a transitional/pop-up plan designed to ensure that the space can be enjoyed as soon as possible; and then a permanent plan that will align withwhatever is developed on the neighboring property.

"We understand that this property will be sold and may be redeveloped to include a restaurant. We will ensure that any permanent plans for the park complement and work in concert with that space. We expect the temporaryiteration of our downtown park to open sometime in 2023," the mayor said.

In addition to previous measures toward making the borough safer for pedestrians, motorists and bicyclists, including reducing the speed limit on most borough road to 25 mph, this year the borough looks to add its first bicycle lane on Metuchen's portion of Grove Avenue.

And other improvements are planned.

Busch said this year major upgrades are planned for two of the borough's most "frustrating" intersections. With the assistance of the state Department of Transportation, a traffic light with an exclusive left turn signal will be added for vehicles on Grove Avenue making a left turn onto Middlesex Avenue.

More:American Girl's 2023 Doll of the Year calls Metuchen her hometown

In addition, Middlesex County will be making major improvements at the Central and Durham avenues intersection with new traffic signals, a left turn signal from Central onto Durham, wider turn lanes for trucks, new striping and a push button for pedestrian walk signals with countdown timers at the crosswalks.

"We are moving closer to being able to make substantial safety improvements to Main Street with the $9.3 million dollar safety improvements grant from the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. This grant money will be used to address several known problems along Main Street, including high crash occurrences, frequentbridge strikes, pedestrian accessibility, and bicycle accommodations," Busch said.

"Some of the improvements we can look forward to include upgraded traffic signals with improved timing and phasing; new ADA-compliant ramps; sidewalk repair and improvements; high visibility crosswalks; flashing pedestrian beacons at select locations; traffic calming measures at targeted locations; and the addition of an over-height vehicle detection system to reduce occurrence of train bridge strikes. We expect these improvements to be implemented in 2024."

Busch said the borough also has made steady progress with efforts to maintain Metuchen as an arts community. He said the purchase of the Forum Theatre on Main Street in 2019 with grant funds from Middlesex County set the stage for it to become the cornerstone of the Metuchen Arts District.

'We deserve this':Metuchen is named Great American Main Street Award semifinalist

He said the borough is getting closer to acquiring the gas station property on Main Street and Amboy Avenue, next to the theatre, with grant money but will not take possession of that property without assurances that the property owner is held accountable for the environmental cleanup costs.

"Transformational projects like these take time and we are committed to doing this well, doing this right, and doing it responsibly," the mayor said.

Email: srussell@gannettnj.com

Suzanne Russell is a breaking news reporter for MyCentralJersey.com covering crime, courts and other mayhem. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Will the 'Golden Age' of Metuchen continue? What's coming in 2023