The Ortley Beach streetscape plan. (Credit: Toms River Township)
A long-awaited project that officials and community leaders hope will maintain and revitalize the Ortley Beach downtown business district is likely to begin this fall, a Toms River councilman announced at a meeting held last week.
Councilman Justin Lamb, whose ward includes Ortley Beach, said he met last week with design engineering consultant NV5, a national firm that is working locally with Morgan Engineering to design to new “look” of the Route 35 north corridor. The project dates back several years, initially funded by a post-Sandy recovery grant which has since picked up additional funding from the state Department of Transportation. Though a number of different start times for work on the project have been announced over the years, nagging issues from both business owners and state agencies.
Now, it appears, the design phase of the project is nearing its completion and construction will be able to begin after the summer season.
The council in 2022 authorized NV5 to expend as much as $224,821 to develop the plan, an increase reflecting additional state funding.
The plan calls for enhancements that will be made to improve the public’s experience in the area, including better lighting, pedestrian accessibility and bike racks. News stands and benches will line the streets. New gateway signage and landscaping will amplify the area as well.
Effectively, the streetscape plan will give the business district a more uniform look, or branding, unique from neighboring Lavallette and the boardwalk-driven Seaside Heights.
Renderings of the anticipated Ortley Beach “Streetscape” design. (Credit: NV5)
The Ortley Beach streetscape plan. (Credit: Toms River Township)
While much of the design work was completed before 2022, the township hit snags in its implementation. A majority of business owners along Route 35 refused to sign easements allowing the state to use their properties for the design. A person with knowledge of the discussions at the time said the state also favored a different pedestrian plan than what had been submitted, urging more functional lights along the business district rather than subdued pathway lighting that was deemed to be most aesthetically pleasing.
This led the state to provide the funds that would allow NV5, which has performed work on the state highway during its post-Sandy reconstruction, to use its resources to put together the streetscape plan along the same highway.
According to NV5, the firm is responsible for “providing design services for this streetscape improvement project consisting of decorative pedestrian street lights, benches, bike racks, trash and recycling receptacles, news racks and gateway signage.” Also, proposed plantings will consist of linear planting areas adjacent to the proposed street lights and several street trees.
Once the new plan is created, it will go back to the DOT for approval, along with about a dozen other state agencies which all must sign off on it. The project was initially – in its updated design – slated to begin construction in 2023, however that never materialized.
The Ortley Beach streetscape plan. (Credit: Toms River Township)
The Ortley Beach streetscape plan. (Credit: Toms River Township)
The Ortley Beach streetscape plan. (Credit: Toms River Township)
“It was kind of languishing there in the last administration, however we’ve recently picked up steam and I thank the administration for that,” said Lamb. “Hopefully in the fall we’ll be starting the project, and I know the Ortley Beach people are very happy for that.”
Lamb said two topics dominated a meeting he recently had with residents of the neighborhood.
“They want to see the Streetscape and Surf Club projects take off, and we’re looking to start that all in the fall,” he said.
As for the Surf Club, the future of the site, which is deeded to the state through its Blue Acres program with an agreement that Toms River must maintain and provide for improvements to it – with state permitting approval – is still in flux. Normally, Blue Acres properties are sealed from development permits due to the nature of the program, which provides funding to place repeatedly-flooded properties under public ownership. The Surf Club site, however, holds significant value as an access point to the ocean and expanded beach accessibility, which local officials have long hoped would result in a logical loosening of traditional regulations.
The Ortley Beach Voters and Taxpayers Association recently announced that a first step – the removal of what many residents see as an unsightly fence along the property – will be effectuated soon.
“This is the first step in the redevelopment of the property,” the announcement said.
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