DOT Funds Next Phase of Boulevard Streetscape Plan

The borough will receive another $150,000 in grant funding from the Department of Transportation towards the next phase of the .

Borough Administrator Mike Kronyak confirmed that the DOT announced this week the borough will receive this funding which will be used for phase four – the stretch of the Boulevard from Franklin to Hamilton avenues.

The ongoing project includes the installation of new brick paver ribbons, new curb cuts and new lighting to the Boulevard. The project began about two years ago and phases one and two – both sides of the Boulevard from Washington and Kipp avenues and Kipp and Jefferson are considered complete. The project also includes new walkways across the Boulevard made out of thermoplastic, an alternative to real bricks, which can better sustain weather conditions.

The borough has already received a grant in the amount of $150,000 towards phase three which will be the area of the Boulevard from Jefferson and Franklin.

The borough is working on the project in phases, completing one block at a time, as grant funding is received. Each phase costs $200,000 – 75 percent is funded by the DOT grant and the borough puts up the remaining $50,000.

Now that the borough has received approval of the grant funding for phase four Kronyak said the borough hopes to be able to go out for bid for phase three and four at the same time. This was also done with phases one and two enabling the borough to be ahead of schedule with the project, he added.

The plans for phase three have already been drawn up, he said. In order to meet the requirement for phase three, they will have to award a bid by July or August of this year.

The design scheme for the project is based on the design of the municipal building which was constructed in 2003. Businesses on the Boulevard that wish to improve their sidewalks are asked to comply with the designs of the borough’s streetscape plan.