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The Bergen Record
Affordable housing projects put Millburn's downtown community in jeopardy
By Miguel Alba,
2024-05-14
An affordable housing plan is threatening Millburn township by contributing to its biggest weakness — congestion.
Currently the affluent township of Millburn is facing a large controversy over an affordable housing agreement that the township agreed to in 2021, but the current leadership does not want. It aims to add 75 new apartment units to the vibrant downtown area. While there are a group of local residents who seem to have a problem with the affordable housing part of the project, I am not one of them. However, the location of this project is the issue and contributes to the larger problem of congestion plaguing Millburn Avenue.
The main issue of this project is not the affordable housing itself but rather its location, which would have the Millburn Public Works facility forgo a section of their property. The public works facility is located right next to an underpass bridging the middle school and the main town. Adding housing units there will lead to heavier delays near the already busy middle school area, especially at key morning and afternoon rush hours.
The threat of congestion is nothing new to Millburn Ave as local residents have experienced the street’s drastic remodeling in the last decade. The former Saks Fifth Avenue building and Chanticler were bulldozed to make way for new housing. Such housing projects gave birth to the Short Hills Enclave, the partially completed Metropolitan, and almost completed Beahive Properties. The goal of these projects was to turn old empty lots into sources of revenue, but an unfortunate consequence has been an increase in traffic and congestion on Millburn Avenue. The affordable housing project will further increase traffic and congestion on this street, since the street cannot be widened and there is unlikely to be restrictions on residents owning cars.
One may think that the extra units should not put that much pressure on the town’s traffic alone, however that hinges on the Public Works site being the only new addition. The issue is that the Public Works facility is not the only site for affordable housing, as the old Annie Sez Property is slated for demolition and construction for affordable housing as well. The Annie Sez Property is another project that has issues due to its awkward position at the edge of downtown. Millburn mainly consists of one-way roads, and the Annie Sez property is located right at the entrance of such roads, which will lead to more traffic delays on Essex Street and Millburn Avenue.
Luckily, the township has been responsive to the traffic increase in downtown Millburn from the previous projects and enacted its Complete Streets Initiative. The goal was to improve the walking experience downtown by expanding the sidewalk and decreasing the main intersection from three lanes to two. One lane allows drivers to only go straight, while the second gives an option for a right turn at the intersection. While the main intersection moves faster now, it hasn’t been costless. Since cars cannot make a left turn, they are forced to loop around Essex Street or take detours through residential areas. This solution is effective, but it barely handles the town’s current volume as it is still bumper to bumper in the mornings and rush hour. With the addition of more density created by this new proposed affordable housing plan, it will only get worse.
When considering all of the proposed affordable housing projects, it is doubtful that Millburn’s current road system will be able to adjust to the increased population and car growth. One of the benefits of a beautiful downtown is that the township closes Main Street for various occasions and seasons for outside dining and shopping. This decision to close down the street is already controversial with opposition trying to get rid of the practice. With increased traffic flow due to massive downtown apartment buildings, with no restriction on cars, there would be absolutely no room for such policies.
A win-win solution for residents and developers of Millburn would involve spacing out housing or widening streets. Unfortunately, this is not possible since the agreement made by the township officials has locked the town into such projects and streets cannot be widened. At this point, all residents can do is to keep up with the town hall’s current affairs to try and prevent the situation from getting worse.
Residents would be keen on supporting policies that would prohibit a large influx of housing or attempt to diffuse traffic across town by adding strategically placed lights and crosswalks. In addition, residents could argue for a pedestrian-only downtown. Regardless of the solutions the community comes up with, Millburn will need to make serious decisions in order to compensate for its increased community.
Miguel Alba is an economics student at Seton Hall University, who has lived in the Short Hills-Millburn area for the last 21 years.
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